Moving on from Harry Potter
by padfoot2002
Summary: Story taking place 3 years after DH. Mostly canon except for the death of some characters and that more importantly Harry and Ginny never got together during HBP instead grew a solid friendship. Ginny, however, hasn't moved on even when she's sure he does't feel the same way about her and never will. What happens when Ginny decides to take matters into her own hands? Eventually HG.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** **This story has been on my mind for a long time, and I figured it wouldn't hurt anyone to give it a shot. If you want me to continue updating please leave a review because otherwise I feel like I'll be wasting my time. I am almost 15 years old so don't expect me to have a perfect writing style.**

 **Author's Note 2:** **The part in bold between {} has been edited as of 19/4/2017.**

Chapter 1

It was a cool and breezy May, Saturday afternoon at Ottery St. Catchpole. The sun had yet to set leaving a mix of colors in the clear sky, and all the Weasley family members and their close friends were scattered inside and outside the Burrow.

Molly Weasley along with Nymphadora Tonks were in the kitchen busily cooking everyone a huge feast and chattering happily about their families.

In the living room was Arthur Weasley excitedly interrogating Mr. and Mrs. Granger about everything Muggle-related not unlike he had been doing on every single opportunity he could find. Bill and his wife Fleur Delacoure, Percy and his wife Penelope Clearwater, and Charlie were sitting on the other side of the room talking about their jobs and their families as well. Upstairs, in what used to be Fred and George's room, were Victoir and Dominique, Bill and Fleur's three and one year olds; Molly Jr., Percy and Penelope's two year old; Fred Jr., George and Angelina Johnson's two year old; George Jr., Fred and Alicia Spinet's two year old; along with Teddy Lupin, Tonks's only child, were tucked in the magically multiplied cribs and beds taking their afternoon naps.

In the backyard, there was a very vicious Quiditch match that was scheduled to begin in about half an hour, and the tension between the two teams was as if they were competing for the Quiditch World Cup.

Each team was made up of a beater, a keeper, a chaser, and a seeker. The first team was made up of Lee Jordan as keeper, Fred Weasley as beater, Alicia Spinet as chaser, and Harry Potter as seeker; the whole team was present and discussing their game techniques for the hundredth time which wasn't really necessary given that this would be the thousandth time they were having a Quiditch match. Harry Potter seemed to be the only person on the team who didn't seem to have all his concentration on the game that was going to take place seeing that he was occasionally sending quick glances towards his girlfriend Amber Hastings who was sitting under a tree peacefully reading a book, responding to Harry with her discreet yet beautiful smiles which just made his insides melt.

The other team however was a little bit more relaxed, Ron Weasley, the keeper, was sitting next to his girlfriend Hermione Granger and was awfully distracted on how the sun was being reflected by her eyes making her as beautiful as ever; and George Weasley and Angelina Johnson, the respective beater and chaser, were checking if their children, nephews, and nieces were still quietly enjoying their little nap. Consequently, none of the team members noticed that their seeker was missing.

Ginny Weasley was sitting by the pond next to her house like she had always done whenever she felt like being alone. The water was not warm enough for Ginny to swim in, yet it was just about the perfect temperature to be able to slightly dip her toes in the clear and dazzling liquid. With the cool breeze beautifully messing her gorgeous red hair and the sun giving a particular glimmer in her deep chocolate brown eyes, the whole scene looked stunning for the passerby.

Ginny, on the other hand, didn't feel beautiful at all. Actually, she felt like the most pathetic person on earth at that moment. While all the current people inside and outside of the Burrow were enjoying this cool and breezy Sunday afternoon, Ginny just couldn't stand anybody at the moment and just felt like staying away from all the noise and the talking and the laughing and the bickering. She felt like curling up in a deep hole and never getting out. She was grasping the moist grass under her clenched fists while blinking away all the unshed tears of anger and sorrow that she had kept stored in her for some time now. In that moment, she considered herself a big fat mess of feelings. So, she let everything she was feeling in as she let down the walls that she had built up so long ago. She let all the pain she was feeling pour out of her.

Ginny wanted to blame _him_ for everything she was feeling but she knew deep down that it wasn't _his_ fault at all. She let out an angry groan at her realization. Maybe it wasn't _his_ fault, but everything always led up to _him_. _He_ was the reason she couldn't feel as happy as everyone else did on an occasion such as today's reunion which happened at least once or twice every single month. _He_ was the reason she couldn't move on with her life like everyone was doing. But _he_ didn't know it, so she couldn't blame _him_.

Ginny could only blame herself for the way she felt. The way she had convinced almost everybody she hadn't felt since her third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In Ginny's defense, she had tried on several times to put as much distance between both of them as she could, but given he practically lived in her family's home, the Burrow the same place she had lived since she was born, that wasn't very easy to do. She was stuck with _him_ , and _he_ didn't even know it. She knew she was kidding herself if she thought she could ignore and simply get over the raven-haired guy and avoid his gorgeous emerald green eyes. She was so angry at herself for being so helpless and weak against _him_. However, she couldn't beat herself up for it because _he_ wasn't a normal guy, and that wasn't just because _he_ was "The Boy Who Lived" nor because _he_ was the chosen one who had defeated the Dark Lord on numerous occasions including the final battle where _he_ had permanently defeated Voldemort three years ago. She felt the way she felt about the guy underneath, and not the portrait of the hero that the Wizarding World had painted over the face of the emotionally scarred boy. She fell for the brave, courageous, loving, and caring person underneath it all.

Ginny Weasley was in love with Harry Potter, "The Boy Who Was Too Blind to See the Way She Felt about Him".

But she couldn't blame him for not thinking of her as more than one of his friends. She was actually grateful that he didn't think of her as Ron's little sister anymore and realized that she was her own person not only the youngest and only female of the Weasley kids. Up until Harry's forth year, she was the little girl who had a hero crush on him and squealed turning bright red while doing clumsy things whenever he was around, the little girl that he had rescued from the claws of Tom Riddle and the Chamber of Secrets all those years ago.

He never thought about her as more than that until he saw her potential during his brief time mentoring in the DA (Dumbledore's Army) where she had shown how skilled she was in everything she did. During that whole year he was starting to get to know her better and was starting to see her in a whole new perspective. He started being more protective of her and started caring for her as he did for Hermione; which was saying something since she was basically his sister in all but blood. And after the incident in the department of mysteries during which Harry and Ginny along with four of their close friends had battled against Death Eaters, Harry and Ginny have been developing a friendship.

Ginny, on the other hand, realized something different during that particular year. Her behavior around Harry had changed during her third year. She had given up on him completely and therefor convinced herself that she had gotten over her childish hero-crush on Harry. She had started feeling quite comfortable around him and started being herself instead of blushing bright red every time he was around, not that he had noticed. So she didn't have any problem being around Harry during the numerous DA meetings in the Room of Requirements and had been quite amused at the way he was always astonished and left breathless when he witnessed her casting defensive spells as well as other curses and hexes. Ginny being so proud of herself had even told Hermione she was officially over Harry Potter actually believing it herself. { **Seeing as Hermione was originally the one who had told her that it was time to move on and see other people, Ginny knew that the older girl would be proud to hear that she had finally gotten over The-Boy-Who-Lived.**

 **On the eve of the last D.A. meeting before the Christmas holidays, however, she realized that she had indeed made her conclusions too soon. The meeting was like any other, they started with the Impediment Jinx for a few minutes and then kept on going over things they had gotten over so far. Ginny did notice how Harry kept on walking past Cho while she beamed at him, and she couldn't help rolling her eyes but that was normal. They were just so fluffy it made her sick, and she could see her feelings mirrored on the faces of many other D.A. members. What really destabilized her resolve was later that night, when Harry came into the Gryffindor common room a half hour later than everybody else. She didn't think much about it first despite his enamored expression, but after overhearing bits and pieces of his conversation with Ron and Hermione, she quietly made her way upstairs careful as to not being noticed but not missing the sorrowful glance Hermione sent her way. In her defense, she didn't spend the night crying into her pillow, wishing she could be in Cho's place. She still had her pride and dignity after all. She just accepted the fact that, eventually, she had to get over him and find closure.**

 **Hermione had tried several times since then to make Ginny confess her feelings to Harry in a way to do just that, but even the bravest Gryffindor didn't have the courage it took to take that kind of step; especially when the person you wanted to declare your undying flame to was always in the middle of complicated situations.**

 **For instance, the loss of his godfather Sirius Black which was a complete loss for Ginny since she had grown to care deeply for the man, or for example the fact that they rarely saw each other during her fifth year during which she was studying for her O.W.L.S. and he was spending a lot of his time in Dumbledore's company doing Merlin-knows-what and later that same year mourning the loss of his mentor, as well as her sixth year at Hogwarts which was in mid-war when Harry was searching for Voldemort's horcruxes with Ron and Hermione, as she had found out later during the war when Harry along with his two companions had shown up at Hogwarts to find the last of the horcruxes which lead to having the final battle on the grounds of Hogwarts while facing so many losses. The period after the battle had been a time of grief and Ginny hadn't had the intention of adding another burden on Harry's shoulders at the time. Plus, by that time her feelings weren't a burden to her as much as they were something she just had gotten used to, and they were the least of her worries for that period of time.**

 **Today it had been almost three years since the final battle and everything had been okay since then. Ginny was working as an intern at the Ministry while Harry was a junior Auror in training alongside Ron having almost completed their training programs. Ginny would spend her free time spoiling her nieces and nephews, while Harry did the same thing and at the same time managed to always stop by for occasional visits at the Burrow where he and Ginny would sit quietly at the same spot Ginny was right now and relax.**

 **However, lately his visits were getting less and less and he was spending most of his free time with Amber. Harry and Amber had met each other in The Leaky Cauldron once and had been inseparable ever since. Ginny had gotten to know Amber and she had turned out to be a very sweet person, so Ginny couldn't despise her like she wanted to the first time she lay her eyes on the pretty girl. There was only one thing of Amber's that Ginny envied, Amber had Ginny's deepest of desires; she had Harry.**

 **Ginny was so deep in her thoughts she didn't notice the sad smile that spread on her face, nor the tears that started once again rolling down her cheeks. Before she knew it she was curled up on the grass and was using the sheet she was on to cover herself. As soon as her eyes slammed shut, she started dreaming about a certain raven haired boy.**

… **..**

 **When Ginny woke up, she was startled to see Charlie, Bill, Ron and her parents looking straight at her. It was already dark so Ginny could barely make out the expressions on their faces. She saw a bit of relief spread over her mother's features but was quickly replaced with worry. Ginny realized that her mother must have noticed her tear strained face along with her puffy red eyes. She sent a quick glance towards her brothers and her fathers and saw the same expression of worry on their faces. She didn't want to talk about anything, so she just looked straight through them to watch the dark sky now filled with stars and the moon. She could hear very distinct laughter coming from the Burrow but other than that the only sound heard was the chirping of crickets and rustling of leaves and the occasional hoot of an owl.**

 **Ginny decided to break the uncomfortable silence and said, "Beautiful night, isn't it?" without looking at anyone in particular, just vaguely looking at the pond. Her mother couldn't stand it anymore and just blurted what everyone there was dying to ask:**

" **Ginny, are you okay? We have been searching for you for hours, we thought something might have happened to you!"**

" **Yeah mum, I'm okay I was just a little tired and fell asleep earlier."**

" **Ginny, you are obviously not okay", blurted out Ron** _ **. "**_ **We have been worried sick! You just disappear like that, and we find you two hours later asleep under a tree, looking like you have been crying your eyes out! How do you expect us to believe that you are okay?!"**

 **Ginny looked at her brother for a long time trying to figure out what she was supposed to say next, but she was lost for words. She wasn't mad at him for being worried nor for indicating that she had been crying since she thought it would be quite obvious. But, she didn't know how she could respond to that in a way that wouldn't make her family more worried than they already were. She was about to say that she didn't want to talk about anything at the moment, when she and her family saw the figure of a person approaching. "Saved by the bell" Ginny thought to herself. She turned around to wipe the signs of tears off her face since she wasn't prepared to have to explain herself to yet another person.**

 **She wasn't surprised to see Harry coming their way since he was one of the very few people who actually knew the existence of this particular spot, but that didn't mean she was happy to see him. Yet she didn't see Amber at his side like she usually did so his presence was a little more bearable. She sank back down in her previous sleeping place and let out a frustrated and angry sigh which made everyone else turn their attention from the new presence and all back to her again.**

" **Nice to see you too Gin," he said in a mock tone, "so I see you have been hiding here for the past two hours? And may I ask why you were here in the first place?**

 **First of all Harry", Ginny said in a dead serious tone, "I wasn't hiding I was just sitting by the pond and fell asleep. Second of all, even if I was hiding it would be none of your business, so no you may not ask why I was here in the first place," she continued in a voice she realized was a little too harsh.**

" **Okay, okay forget I even asked", Harry retorted defensively.**

 **Everyone there was looking at them with their breaths held. They weren't in the mood at all for another of Harry and Ginny's infamous fights. You see, they were the best of friends and all, but they were always bickering like an old married couple. The Weasleys were quite grateful that Harry had ended the argument before it had gotten too far. Harry noticed how everyone had let out a breath they were holding and decided to lighten up the situation. "Can we go back in now? It is getting rather chilly and I don't reckon any of you would like to catch a cold, now do you?" He said in his best impression of Molly Weasley. Everyone chuckled at that, even Ginny managed a slight smile.**

 **Harry watched Molly and Arthur head back towards the Burrow followed by Charlie and Bill. He was about to follow them along with Ron when he noticed that Ginny was still sitting under the tree that he had gotten familiar with, not making any move to get up. He told Ron that he would catch up with him in a minute motioning towards Ginny. Ron just nodded lazily and told him to be careful with her because he was almost certain that she had cried herself to sleep. Harry nodded to Ron and started to make his way back to Ginny, slightly worried as to why his usually cheerful friend seemed and even looked really down. He noticed the way all color had gone from her face, and her eyes were swollen and red and all dried out. He couldn't see the twinkle in her eyes he usually saw when he looked at her.**

 **Ron was right, he thought to himself, Ginny had obviously been crying but he was too blind to notice it when he first saw her, and instead of comforting he had provoked her.**

 **He went and sat next to her under the tree in his usual spot. Ginny unconsciously laid her head on his shoulders like she always did and let out a long sigh. They had developed some sort of silent agreement the first time they had sat there about four years ago and ever since then they had known exactly what the other needed at the moment. Harry knew that Ginny didn't want to talk at all so he wrapped her in an awkward, yet warm hug hoping that it would her feel a little better.**

 **When Ginny felt Harry's arm being wrapped around her, she felt butterflies in her stomach. She had missed his warm embrace, and being back in his arms reminded her of everything she couldn't have. She felt tears forming in her eyes, but she instantly blinked them back because she knew how uncomfortable Harry could get around tearful women.**

' **Get a grip on yourself woman. You are turning into a drama queen, this isn't you!' she mentally berated herself.**

 **They both stayed that way for what seemed like hours, months, even years. Ginny didn't want to let go, she wanted to stay in his arms forever but she knew that she couldn't, and eventually she let go. They looked into each other's eyes, chocolate brown meeting emerald green, and a small smile spread on Ginny's lips. Harry returned her smile with a bigger one making his eyes twinkle with the night stars and making Ginny's insides melt.**

" **Better?" Asked Harry in a concerned tone.**

" **Yep." Said Ginny truthfully.**

" **Do you want to talk about it now?"**

" **Nope."**

" **Fine, but you know where to find me when you eventually want to tell me what was bothering you so much that you let those walls of yours down." Said Harry in a very serious tone.**

 **Ginny was speechless, she knew that Harry could understand her like no one else could, but she didn't know that he could see through her. That thought scared her, she hid a lot of things behind those "walls of hers" as Harry had called them. Harry seeing her shocked face let out a laugh: "Why so surprised Miss Weasley, didn't think you could fool** _ **me**_ **did you? I can look past those fake smiles you always keep on putting on. You can't fool me dear, I know you even better than you know yourself. The only thing I cannot seem to figure out is what those feelings are, and why you put all this effort in keeping them hidden away from everyone. There is something you aren't telling me."**

" **Oh please, Mr. Potter, don't go on flattering yourself. You wouldn't be able to look through me, as you so confidently stated, if I didn't let you. And as for those feelings you cannot seem to figure out", she added in perfect impression of his voice which made him laugh, "that will stay that way until I decide otherwise. So I reckon it would be much simpler for both of us if you simply gave up."**

" **I am absolutely hurt Miss Weasley. Do you expect The Boy Who Lived to give up on a task? I, The Chosen One, the defeater of the Dark Lord, the hero of so many, including you I might add, have never and never will give up on anything. I vow to you that someday I'll be able to look behind these walls."}**

Ginny couldn't hold herself anymore, she burst out laughing and had to clutch her stomach not too fall. Harry having noticed the tone he had taken while talking joined her laughter. Eventually they were both lying on the moist grass barely a meter away from each other. They stayed that way for quite a while until Harry broke the silence and said: "I wasn't kidding, you know, I will do whatever it is humanely possible to find out what you are trying to hide and why it's hurting you so bloody much. You are quite a challenge Weasley."

"I am most definitely flattered, Potter, that you would want to commit to such a thing, out of all people you would consider plain old Ginny a challenge. But go on, humor me; I would love to see you try."

"Challenge accepted. Now, we really need to head back to the Burrow, I am absolutely starved, and I certainly hope you didn't forget that I had an announcement to make?"

With that they both got up from under the tree and started making their way towards the Burrow in a comfortable silence. All the things Ginny had been thinking about a few hours ago were long gone, and she was just enjoying Harry's company. She wasn't worried that Harry had committed himself to know what the feelings she was trying so hard to keep out were, since she had done such a good job hiding them for the past five years or so. She was just enjoying her best friend's company and had left all her worries behind.

After walking for fifteen minutes they arrived to the Burrow where everyone was sitting in the backyard waiting for supper to be served. At one end of the table was Arthur Weasley on his right were Mr. Granger, Mrs. Granger, Bill, Fleur, Fred, Alicia, Ron and Hermione and an empty seat next to her. On Arthur's left were Molly, Tonks, Charlie, Percy, Penelope, George, Angelina, and Amber, the empty seat next to her being the seat opposite to Arthur was empty as well. The children, now wide awake, were sitting on a miniature table nearby.

Harry and Ginny made their way to their usual seats, their presence going unnoticed because every single person on the table was having a conversation with another one. Amber didn't even notice when Harry placed a soft kiss on her cheek before taking his seat. Harry and Ginny exchanged amused glances not knowing what to do next. They were interrupted from their thoughts when Molly Weasley cleared her throat making everyone turn his or her attention to her: "Seeing as everyone has finally decided to join us, she said shooting glances towards Harry and Ginny, I think supper can be served." She waved her wand and instantly about a dozen dishes came flying in from the Burrow. As soon as the dishes had been set perfectly on the table, a mix of wonderful smells started to fill the air. Everyone at the table started to serve him or herself with quite generous servings of food. Soon all that could be heard was the clatter of forks and plates and some distinct conversations. Occasionally, someone, mostly one of the Weasleys, would compliment Molly on her exquisite cooking with a mouthful of food which would make everyone chuckle.

The dishes in the middle were getting empty quite quickly, and soon everyone was full. Ginny felt a cold breeze make her body shiver and discreetly slipped from her chair to head to her room and grab a jacket.

She went into the Burrow and up to her room, opened her closet, grabbed the first hoody she could get her hands on and was making her way back to the door when something on the table next to her window caught her eye. She made her way over there and took the picture delicately from its place.

It was a beautiful photo of her and Harry sitting under a tree next to the Black Lake at Hogwarts very similar to the one they had previously been sitting under. The picture was taken by Colin Creevey during Ginny's sixth year, he had assured her that he hadn't been stalking them at the time. He had told her that he had been taking pictures of the Black Lake for some assignment and he had seen them so peacefully sitting under the tree in such a beautiful scenery and couldn't resist snapping the picture. She had to admit that he had a point, the picture was gorgeous.

…

 _Harry had been having a rough time mourning Sirius so he had gotten up early that day to clear his mind. He headed down to his favorite spot under a huge tree next to the Black Lake when he had seen a familiar red-headed witch sitting in his usual place with her eyes closed. He had gotten quite used to Ginny's comforting company so he hadn't thought twice about joining her. He quietly sat next to her and she automatically scooted closer to him as if knowing that it was him. She had put her head on his shoulder which he had responded to by wrapping an arm around her and ruffling her hair affectionately._

 _A breeze had wend out of nowhere making their hair dance in the wind as well as the autumn colored leaves of the trees, contrasting the color of the fresh green grass. The sun was just rising so the sky was a mix of red yellow and orange. The lake was as clear and blue as ever._

 _The picture altogether was a beautiful and delicate mix of colors._

…

That perfect moment. Ginny smiled at the memory. She looked out of her window which was just above the backyard where everybody was sitting. She let her eyes wonder off to where Harry was and saw him talking in what seemed to be a whispered tone with Amber. Then he got up cleared his voice so that everybody would turn his attention to him and said:

"As most of you know, I have an announcement to make. I wanted you all to hear this from me and not read it from the Daily Prophet as I'm sure that what I'm going to tell you will soon be public knowledge seeing as the press can't seem to get bored with the subject of my personal life". At this most of the people at the table let out knowing laughs, even Ginny let out a chuckle. "So, without any further ado…"

He motioned for Amber to get up and held her hand in his, they both nodded simultaneously and instant smiles spread on their faces. Everybody was getting quite intrigued and Harry could see the impatience in their expressions. He was about to open his mouth to talk when Amber interrupted him:

"Oh Harry would you please wait a minute, Ginny isn't here and you did say you wanted everyone present for the announcement."

"I'm up here, you two." Ginny called out from her window with an amused look on her face making everyone turn their gazes away from the couple and towards the Burrow. "Go on now we are getting quite impatient", she added with a laugh.

"OK fine, let's get this over with", whispered Harry to himself then he cleared his throat making everyone return his/her attention back to him. He gave Amber's hand a last squeeze and said: "We're engaged."

Cries of joys were heard from all over the table and instantly people started congratulating the young couple. Even the children who didn't understand anything that was going on started to laugh. Most of the women had tears in their eyes and were overwhelming the couple in big hugs, and the men were patting Harry on the back with the exception of Fred and George who were wiping fake tears from their eyes: "Our little Harrykins is all grown up. He has no idea what he's getting himself into Gred", said George enveloping Harry and his twin brother into a hug. "I'm afraid he doesn't Forge, call it off while you can Harrykins it's not too late you know", continued Fred in the same mock tone." Harry let out a bark of laughter at the twin's comments.

Over all the commotion, no one had noticed the sound of glass shattering from the upstairs bedroom; nor the sound of muffled crying. Ginny had still been holding the now broken picture and had dropped it in the shock of Harry's announcement. She didn't want to believe what she had just heard, yet she knew it was true and there was nothing she could do about it. She let her tears pour freely down her face. It didn't matter anymore to look strong. She lost him. He wasn't even hers to begin with. She picked up the picture from underneath the shattered glass and made her way towards her bed. She threw herself on her bed without bothering to kick the heels off her feet. She pressed the picture against herself hanging onto it as if someone was on his way to try and rip it away from her. Her muffled cries where starting to become loud sobs so she cast a silencing charm on the walls of her room not to let the sound of her sobs reach the backyard where everybody was currently celebrating. She was all alone and she couldn't even go find comfort in Harry's arms.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 **Ginny woke up the next day with a terrible headache. She sent a quick glance at the alarm clock her father had retrieved from an old pile of Muggle artifacts back at the Ministry; it was seven o'clock. A slight smile spread across her face when she realized it was Sunday and she could sleep in. However, the smile was quickly washed off and replaced with a frown when the events of the previous night came rushing back. She felt something moist against her body and looked down to see that she was still holding the now slightly wet picture of Harry and her tightly against her chest. She let out a long and deep sigh realizing that her headache was because she had cried herself to sleep.**

 **Knowing that she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep yet and not wanting to face her family members, Ginny snuggled up under her covers and just laid there looking up at her ceiling then down at her toes then back at the ceiling. Shocked and slightly alarmed at what she had just done and seen, Ginny fell off her bed. She was a hundred percent sure that she had neither taken the time to summon a cover, nor kick her heels off the previous night; which only meant that someone had taken the time to check on her, had seen the state she was in, and had taken care of her. If that said person had also seen the picture she had been holding on to, that meant he or she would have figured out what was wrong with her, and Ginny being her paranoid self only imagined the worst.**

 **Wanting to investigate further in the situation, Ginny decided to go downstairs and ask her mother, who would probably be already awake cooking, if she had any clue as to who had been in her room.**

 **She stood in front of her mirror to contemplate herself hoping that she didn't look like the mess she felt. Her prayers were not answered. Her long auburn hair which was usually quite neat was all tangled up and sticking in different directions. Her face was tear strained and pale causing the freckles scattered on her cheek and nose to stand out completely. Her eyes were all puffy, red, and dried out. She was still wearing the same clothes as the last night which consisted of a knee length black silk dress which hugged her curves perfectly and was slightly open at the back showing her tanned back. She had looked quite breathtaking the previous night and everybody had complemented her.**

 **Now however the dress was all wrinkled and crumpled up at the edges and needed to be ironed. Ginny decided to take a quick shower and change into a more comfortable outfit before heading downstairs.**

 **She headed towards the washroom and was quite relieved to see that all the doors to her brothers' room were shut, and they were still snoring sound asleep. They had all spent the night at the Burrow along with their wives and kids with the exception of Bill's family who went back home promising to come back the following day for the traditional picnic they had on a Sunday once a month. The kids had as usual spent the night in Bill's old bedroom, and Hermione slept in Ron's room in the bed that was usually occupied by Harry, which only meant that either he was asleep on a couch downstairs along with Charlie or he had gotten back home with his wife-to-be the night before.**

 **Suddenly feeling quite tense she decided that taking a nice long bath wouldn't hurt anyone and would help her relax.**

 **Having arrived to the loo, she opened a cupboard to take a towel when she noticed some bath salts and soaps that she was given as a birthday present from Fleur almost a year ago. She hadn't had the opportunity to use them before, and she thought that today would be the perfect time to benefit from them.**

 **She filled the bathtub with hot water and added some combinations of the salts and soaps. She tied her hair up in a messy bun, took a magazine from the nearby stack, undressed, and sank in.**

 **As soon as her whole body was in the water, Ginny felt her muscles relax and a pleasant warmth spread through her body making her let out an unintentional low groan. She could absolutely get used to this.**

 **She started going through the magazine of Witch Weekly's she had picked up, briefly reading the titles of the articles until something caught her eye. It was a picture of a huge campus with a castle very different from Hogwarts and not as big of course, but it was still quite breathtaking. It was white and elegant with many high towers overlooking on a very beautiful panoramic view of the ocean. It was a breathtaking view and Ginny couldn't stop herself from reading the long article that followed.**

 **The article explained that the castle was a university of wizardry for school graduates called "L'academie de L'Art de La Magie". It offered many different subjects and courses and had some of the best professors in the wizarding world. Ginny was getting more and more interested by the school as she read.**

 **Ever since she had graduated from Hogwarts she hadn't really known what she had wanted to do. She had taken a temporary job at the Ministry as an intern to start saving money to afford her own place and start living as an independent woman, hoping that along the way she would discover her passion in life. However after almost two years at the Ministry, she still didn't know what she wanted to do. Lucky for her, the academie offered a trial year taking advanced classes in everything basic like Transfiguration, Charms, Defense, Potions, Arethmancy etc. As well as introductions to new types of classes that seemed promising. This trial year was supposed to help undecided students to determine in which category they would like to continue their education in.**

 **Ginny loved the idea, it was perfect, it was all she needed right now, the perfect escape. She had everything sorted out in her head already: she had enough money saved to cover up to five years of education at the academie and that was more than enough, she could get a flat somewhere near the school and maybe even find a proper roommate to share the flat and pay the rent with.**

 **The first trimester started in September giving her enough time to apply and set herself up properly. The deadline to send out an application form was at the end of May so she had a little over a week to do so.**

 **The only thing that was keeping Ginny from getting up right away and grabbing a quill and parchment and to start filling the application was that the academie wasn't in London, it was in France. She couldn't bear the thought of leaving all the people she loved behind and going off to an estranged country where she didn't know anyone but the Delacours which she wasn't even that close to. She didn't want to be the one to destroy her parent's happiness of having all their children safe in one place.**

" **No", Ginny though to herself, "for once in your life you can do something for yourself Ginevra and you have to take this opportunity. All the people you know are moving on with their lives and you have to do the same. Stop putting everybody's feelings before yours and do something for your own happiness for once. You are in the need of a getaway after all, especially after everything that happened yesterday. You don't really have anything holding you back if you really think about it, maybe some loose ties but nothing that can't be taken care of." And with that Ginny had made her mind, she was going, and neither anything nor anyone would make her change her mind now.**

 **With that thought she closed her eyes, let out a short satisfied breath, and went on contemplating her future slowly drifting off into a pleasant nap.**

 **Ginny woke up with a start splashing water everywhere around her when she heard someone banging at the door and shouting: "Ginny what in Merlin's beard have you been doing all this time?! Get out of the bathroom! If you haven't noticed there is quite a big number of people here, at the Burrow, today and we would all really like to take a leak if you know what I mean. Specially the children!"**

 **Ginny immediately recognized her dear older brother's voice and let out a groan. Couldn't she just have the bathroom for herself for one bloody morning?**

 **She quickly wrapped a towel around herself, wore her bath slippers, put the rest of the bath salts away, and with a flick of her wand she sent her dirty clothes to the laundry basket downstairs. With another flick she emptied the bathtub and cleaned the floors that were now completely drenched, grabbed the copy of "Witch Weekly" and then headed towards the door.**

 **She hadn't expected to see what she did when she got out.**

 **What looked like the entire Weasley clan, excluding Bill's family and including Hermione who was practically a Weasley in everything but name (Ron hadn't had the courage to ask her the big question yet), was standing in a long line that led all the way to right before the staircase. The hallway which they were standing in was long yet narrow which made it hard for Ginny to make out who was actually there. At the head of the line was a very angry looking Ron followed by the Freds and Georges both Senior and Junior with the same angry expression on all four of their faces. Behind them were Hermione, Penelope, Alicia, and Angelina who weren't wearing the same expression as the guys but looked quite impatient. Penelope stood hand in hand with Molly Jr who was still yawning and had her eyes barely open. At the end of the line Ginny could barely make out two figures that she assumed were Charlie and Percy.**

 **When Ginny's presence was finally noticed and the Weasleys realized that the bathroom was no longer occupied they started running towards the bathroom. One of the twins was the lucky one to arrive to the bathroom first along with his son and let out a victorious cheer before shutting the door. Everybody let out a groan and went back to waiting in line. "Morning Weasleys", said Ginny quite cheerfully, compared to the others' choruses of halfhearted "Mornin' Gin" and "Morning auntie Ginny" s.**

 **Ginny made her way to the end of the line just by the door of her bedroom, and she was quite amused to see that Charlie and Percy looked like all they wanted to do was sleep. They were both leaning on Ginny's bedroom's door and seemed oblivious to the racket taking place right before them. They weren't wearing anything but their boxers which in Charlie's case had dragons on them and their hair was all ruffled up. Percy was wearing his glasses crookedly and was only wearing one sock. Ginny couldn't help but let out a giggle at the way they both looked.**

" **Laughing are we now?" asked Percy getting up from his previous position while rubbing his eyes "Well, you know some of us didn't get to sleep as early as you did last night." He continued with a smug tone.**

 **Not wanting to start a conversation about last night, Ginny just stuck her tongue out at Percy and made her way to her doorknob. She heard Percy mumble something that sounded like "Real mature Gin" before entering her room. She was about to close it when Charlie's face popped out from the narrow opening and he said in a low voice, barely a whisper:**

" **Oh by the way Gin-Gin, Bill and I need to talk you, it's about" he hesitated seeing her raise an eyebrow in question "never mind that, just know that it's important".**

" **Well, seeing as Bill isn't here yet and I'm only wearing a towel, I think a chat can wait." Ginny finished completely closing the door now. She had a slight idea about what the chat was about and she was not going to be lectured nor interrogated by her older brothers.**

 **Pushing aside the burden of the future conversation, Ginny put her full concentration on choosing a decent outfit to wear at the picnic.**

 **She always wore something casual and comfortable seeing as she was going to spend the rest of her day in a forest, sitting on nothing but a piece of cloth.**

 **She got clean underwear, grabbed a pair of slightly ripped white pants and a sleeveless dark blue blouse which hugged her petite figure perfectly. She released her long auburn hair from the towel she had wrapped it into previously, letting it run down her back, slightly splashing her face with cold water. She did a fast drying charm, grabbed a comb from the table next to her bed and stood in front of her mirror once again, running the comb slowly and gracefully through her fiery red hair.**

 **She then applied some light make up to cover up her still slightly pale face, applying some blush on her cheeks to make them look like their natural rosy color. She added some light lipstick on her lips and stood contemplating herself once again in front of the mirror. She looked pretty good considering her emotional state last night.**

 **She didn't give herself too much credit seeing as she never really had to put much of an effort into her appearance. She had a natural beauty many people admired. Her fiery red hair and the golden locks mixed with it made her hair look like a blazing fire, she had big chocolate brown eyes which always had a mischievous twinkle in them, and her eyelashes were special their own way making the use of mascara unnecessary. Her cheeks always had a rosy color complimenting her creamy skin tone, she had a cute little nose, and her lips were pink and full but not too full hiding rows of snow white teeth. People implied that a room would simply brighten up because of her gorgeous smile. Her presence always caused a warm and happy feeling for the people that surrounded her.**

 **She was frequently complimented, mostly by people from the male population, but she wasn't a show-off. Actually, she was quite shy and insecure when it came to her outer appearance, she slightly blushed every time she was told she was beautiful which happened quite often, and she certainly wasn't one to lead on men that were attracted to her.**

 **She went back and opened her closet to grab a pair of shoes from her shoe rack. After contemplating her options she settled on a pair of white sneakers strapped in gold.**

 **Glancing at the clock she noticed that she still had about an hour before it was time when everyone was supposed to meet at their usual picnic spot so she took the issue of "Witch Weekly", a spare parchment and a quill and settled comfortably on her bed.**

 **She was planning on getting everything set for France as soon as possible seeing as she only had a week to send an application form and she needed to get started on all the paperwork it would require. The acceptance or rejection letter was supposed to come in a few days after that so she would have to arrange an apartment by then. Maybe even before that seeing as her mother wouldn't let her go anywhere before she was sure that she had found a roof to stay under. As for the application form she didn't really need much, it was all mainly personal information. However, she had to pay a visit to Hogwarts during the week to get letters of recommendation from her previous professors as well as her OWL and NEWT scores. All in all, it was going to be a busy week between searching for apartment and work ads close to the University, and meeting with her old teachers and present employer; but Ginny knew she could pull it off, heck she could already picture herself eating croissants in France. The only hard part was going to be telling the people she loved that she was moving to another country for over a year. She didn't want many people to know because then they would go on making up their ridiculous conclusions as to why she was leaving so suddenly. She would just tell her family and her closest friends, but that would wait until after she got her acceptance letter. She had a good feeling about it though, she had always been one of the most productive people in her year.**

 **But telling her family, that would absolutely be the worst part, she hoped they would understand that she just needed to start over a new leaf. And if they didn't, well too bad because nothing was going to change her decision no matter how hard and painful it will initially be.**

 **Ginny scribbled down a quick list of everything she needed to take care of during the following week. She didn't have any time to waste later and she had to get it over with.**

 **Then she got up grabbed her purse from her nightstand, put her papers in them, readjusted her outfit for the last time and went downstairs. Apparently, everyone was done with the bathroom and was getting prepared since the hallways of the house were once again completely deserted. Though sounds were coming from the various rooms of the house.**

 **Ginny made her way to the kitchen to see if her mother needed any help with the last minute preparations. However, she stopped on the stairs when she heard a 'pop' coming from the living room followed by Harry's familiar voice: "Hello, Mrs. Weasley? Are you there? It's me Harry."**

 **Just then the close of a door could be heard followed by Mrs. Weasley's voice: "Oh Harry, hello dear. You're here early we aren't supposed to meet for another fifteen minutes."**

" **Yes Mrs. Weasley I know I just wanted to tell you that Amber and I won't be able to make it to the picnic today. Amber still hasn't informed her family about the engagement and she insisted we go to their place for lunch today so we could tell them the good news. I hope you don't mind."**

" **Oh of course dearie don't you worry, I am immensely happy for the both of you and who am I to deprive Amber's parents this joy you have provided us? Go ahead don't make her wait for you I'll tell the others."**

 **Then Ginny heard a long silence which only meant that they were hugging.**

" **Thank you so much Mrs. Weasley, I'll try and swing by in the afternoon either at the picnic or here."**

" **Yes you do that dear. Now go ahead. I'll see you later."**

 **Then with a soft 'pop' he was gone.**

 **Ginny didn't know whether to feel relieved or betrayed at the news. It would sure be easier if she didn't have to face Harry so soon, yet she couldn't help but feel hurt and surprised as to how Harry and Amber had just gotten engaged and everything was already changing. No one had ever missed one of the Weasley picnics, ever. Specially not Harry, he would usually be the one looking forward to them. Well, Ginny thought, he has other commitments now, so things are bound to change around here. Too bad I won't be here to see it.**

 **With that she continued her way down the stairs away from where she had been hiding underneath the shadows, out of sight. When she arrived to the living her room she saw her mother still standing where she was before wiping little marks of tears from her eyes. Ginny couldn't help but smile at how emotional and sensitive her mother could be. Acting as if she hadn't just already heard the conversation that happened between Harry and her mum she said:**

" **Morning mum, did I hear voices coming from here? Who were you talking to?"**

 **Molly seemed in a daze and was startled by the voice of her daughter. Finally coming back to her senses she realized what her daughter had told her she said: "Oh hello Ginny dear, that was Harry he said he couldn't make it to lunch today he has other engagements to attend to. My Ginny, you look amazing I love this color on you darling, it's simply breathtaking."**

 **Ginny blushing at her mother's compliments just said a muffled thanks and added that it was just a simple something she had put together. Molly noticing her daughter's shy nature just laughed it off and enveloped her in a warm hug and told her: "Oh sweetie, you remind me so much of myself when I was your age. But you are absolutely beautiful my baby. It's just a short while before you find the right man. Then you could get married…"**

" **Who's getting married now?" came a voice from the doorway.**

" **Apparently Ginny is." said another voice from the stairway this time "Mum has finally found another member of the family that doesn't have someone in their life and now she has finally laid off me. Thanks Gin-Gin, I owe you big time."**

" **Charlie, I haven't forgotten about you. Your father and I are still waiting to meet your current girlfriend. Hopefully this one will last for longer than a month. As for you Bill, no one is getting married. Not yet at least." Molly said releasing her daughter from her hug and going to hug her two eldest sons with a smile.**

" **I absolument love weddings, zey are always so 'appy. I just can't wait for 'arry and Amber's. Zese two make such a sweet couple." said the very pregnant Fleur entering behind her husband with her two children following. She went and stood next to Bill wrapping her arm around his waist and letting her children go hug their grandmother.**

" **Hello girls", said Molly kneeling and wrapping her granddaughters in a big warm hug and giving them each a soft kiss on the forehead.**

 **Upon seeing the scene in front of her, Ginny felt her aunt instincts kick in and in the most hurt way she could: "What can auntie Ginny do to get such a hug from her beautiful nieces?"**

" **Auntie Ginny!" was the only thing heard before the two girls ran towards their aunt and enveloped her in a big hug. Ginny covered them in kisses and held them tight to her chest.**

" **Wow Gin relax, you saw them last night and they aren't going anywhere. You don't have to choke them to death!" said an amused Angelina coming down the stairs.**

" **You're one to talk! You're with your son 24/7! I like to make the best I can of the little time I have with my nieces and nephews." said Ginny dropping the girls back to the ground and standing at the bottom of the staircase to wait for her nephews that could be heard running on the stairs. Ginny didn't want to admit it to herself, but she knew that the excuse she had just given Angelina wasn't completely honest. She did want to be with her family as much as possible because she knew she was going to miss them like hell when she went to France.**

 **Eventually, everyone was ready. Most of the women were helping Molly with packing the picnic in the kitchen, while the men were retrieving some brooms and other sources of entertainment from Mr. Weasley's shed. Everyone was too wrapped up in his or her business to notice Harry's absence. Not before long anyways.**

 **When everything was ready, Mr. Weasley activated their usual portkey and they all held on to it. After few seconds of the disturbing feeling they all had, the place materialized in front of them. The children directly went off and started to play, while the adults busied themselves setting down the delicious picnic they had gotten used to.**

 **It was when everybody was setting themselves on the large picnic cloth that Ron finally noticed that something was missing.**

" **Wait a moment, there is something missing. I have had the feeling that we forgot something since we arrived but I can't seem to put my finger on it." At that everyone looked at him carelessly, ignoring his comment and went back to serving themselves with large amounts of food.**

" **Oh don't you worry Ron, I'm sure it's probably" started Hermione but she was cut off by Ron as he exclaimed: "Bloody hell! We've forgotten Harry! I knew there was someone missing, I knew it."**

" **Oh Ron stop fussing. Harry came over to the Burrow earlier and excused himself from today because he and Amber have some things to do regarding their engagement. You know Harry is an engaged man now; he will have many commitments and he won't be around as much. You can't go along almost having a heart attack every time he seems to be missing."**

 **At this Ron's ears turned the awful shade of crimson red they usually did when he got embarrassed. Everyone burst out laughing at that. Everyone but Ginny. She couldn't help but notice her mother had shot a brief glance towards her when she was talking. What in Merlin's beard was that about? Sure the subject of Harry's engagement was a touchy subject for Ginny, but why would her mother know that? She wasn't that transparent, was she? Ginny was snapped out of her reverie when she was asked by Percy to pass the bread rolls.**

 **After that, the remainder of lunch was spent pleasantly with enjoyable small talk and conversations. The women spent most of their time feeding their children while the men shoved food in their mouths like there was no tomorrow. Ginny had to bite her tongue not to burst out laughing at the way Hermione was constantly scowling at Ron, for he was eating like a pig, but eventually she couldn't hold it any longer so she spit out the water she was drinking in a very unladylike manner as she let out a bark of laughter, earning a nasty, disapproving look from her mother. She immediately quieted down and quickly dove for her bag to grab her wand to clear the mess she made. What she didn't notice was that when she was taking her wand, the magazine of 'Witch Weekly' she had packed partially fell out of her purse as well. Fred Sr. who was sitting next to her and who had a curious nature couldn't help himself but take the paper from Ginny's bag without her noticing and flipping open to the page the girl had marked. George who noticed his brother's sneakiness didn't wait and jumped from where he was sitting at Ginny's other side and fell next to Fred.**

 **No one noticed the blank expression on the twins' faces when they were going through what was written, nor the shocked looked they were sending towards their sister.**

" **Ginny, what in Merlin's name is this supposed to be?!" asked two identical voices simultaneously. Everyone turned their attentions to the source of the voices which turned out to be the twins who had now gotten up fiercely and held hurt and betrayed expressions on their identical faces. Then they turned their attention to Ginny, who had visibly shrunken down when she saw what her brothers were holding. She saw the confused look on the rest of her family's faces and decided that even though she hadn't planned on telling them this early on, her family had the right to know what she was planning to do.**

 **She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, feeling the stares of all her family on her and said as calmly and quietly as she could: "Fred, George please sit down and let me explain." The twins sat down without a word, yet without dropping their eyes from their sister nor releasing their tight grip on the magazine.**

" **Okay, what I'm about to tell you is going to seem very sudden. I'm absolutely sure most of you won't understand the necessity of what I want to do and will consider it as an impulsive decision that was made in the spur of the moment. Well honestly, it is just that but maybe this is exactly what I need."**

" **Ginny what are you saying what is all this leading to?" asked an intrigued Arthur. In all his years, he had never seen his daughter so agitated. He realized that something troubling her this much must be really important for her.**

" **Sweetie you know you can tell us anything. We're all here for you." added Molly in a comforting voice.**

 **Fred and George stayed silent the whole time, anger and puzzlement still marked on their faces.**

" **Mom, Dad I love you both so very much and I appreciate deeply what you have done for me for the past years. But I think it's finally time that I move on. I have spent the last three years wondering what I want to do with my education and where to start a career. Now I know that I will never be able to move on from the past when everywhere I go, everything around me reminds me of my past. I need a fresh start. And I have found one." Ginny could feel tears forming in her eyes but she wasn't going to give in, she needed to show her family she was strong and confident in her decision. "I am applying to a college, where I'll be able to continue my education. It's going to take a few years and I'll be committing myself fully. I have all expenses sorted out, I'll be getting a few required things from Hogwarts and the Ministry during the week and I'll send my application by a maximum of next weekend. I think I have a pretty good chance of making it in but I'll receive the results as soon as 10 days from now."**

" **Ginny that's great! Why were you so agitated? We're all so happy for you!" said Hermione completely beaming with joy. Most of the Weasleys looked as happy as Hermione. Fred and George decided to do something before Ginny was too intimidated to tell the truth.**

" **Hermione, let her finish. That is not all." said George shaking his head.**

 **The smiles on their faces instantly dropped as they were replaced by frowns that resembled the ones Fred and George's faces.**

" **What is it Ginny? What are you not telling us?" asked Ron.**

 **Ginny hesitated, was she doing the right thing? Should she just forget everything and stick to London? No, no, no, no! She was going to do this.**

" **The academy is in France." she blurted out closing her eyes. She wasn't prepared to see the looks on her parents' and brothers' faces. It was all too much for one day. She waited for the arguments she was going to get and the disapproving and discouraging words from her family, but none came. She slowly opened her eyes to see understanding smiles from Hermione, Charlie, Bill, Fleur, Penelope, Angelina, and Alicia. Percy had an approving look that Ginny had expected, Fred and George were still hurt. However, the blank looks on her parents' and Ron's faces made Ginny's heart break.**

" **Mom? Dad? Please tell me you understand. If you don't, I won't go. I couldn't possibly bear the thought of leaving while you two are mad at me. Please say something, anything." Ginny felt her voice tremble.**

" **Pumpkin, of course we understand. I'm sure you'll get in and that school will be so lucky to have you baby girl." reassured Arthur getting up to hug his daughter, "it's just that we're going to miss having you under our roof. We love you so much and we want the best for you, so if traveling to France is what will make you happy then we support you a hundred percent."**

 **Ginny got up as well to hug her father, squeezing him like there was no tomorrow and fighting back some tears. She softly expressed her thankfulness in his ear. She then reluctantly let go to face her mother. She didn't know what to expect. Her mother had shown no reaction since she said that the school was in France and hadn't shown any emotion on her face. Slowly, Ginny approached her mother waiting for the Weasley wrath, but she didn't face it.**

 **Molly slowly got up looked at her daughter straight in the eye holding her hands softly: "Is that really what you want to do?" she asked in something barely over a whisper. "More than anything mum." pleaded Ginny lightly squeezing her mother's hands in hers. "Then I'm happy for you. I will support you through it all. What is important that you know that you will always have a home here and even if you spend the rest of your life away, when you want to come back we will welcome you with open arms." finished Molly, wrapping her daughter in her famous bone crushing hug. Ginny couldn't hold the tears anymore and she let a few of them fall freely down her rosy cheeks. For a girl that rarely ever shed any tears she was crying quite a lot during these past two days. She held onto her mother for dear life eventually letting her go to face the person she knew would be the hardest to face. She let out a quick chuckle whipping her eyes and turned towards her favorite brother.**

" **Ron?" she quietly asked approaching him slowly with delicate footsteps.**

 **Ron cleared his throat and answered in a voice he thought didn't show any emotion but actually showed a lot: "I don't know what you lot are so sad about. It's not as if she already got her acceptance letter. What makes you all so sure that she'll get in? To be frank I think her chances are pretty slim." he finished with a scoff.**

" **Oh please Ron, that academy won't miss the opportunity of having a student like Ginny in their establishment. Ginny don't you worry you'll certainly make it in. Please excuse your idiot of a brother who is too self-conscious to tell you how he really feels." Said Hermione whipping the last hints of tears from the corner of her eyes and smiling dearly at the girl she had come to consider as the sister she never had.**

" **Thanks 'Mione, I truly appreciate that." replied Ginny skipping her brother and hugging her hopefully soon to be sister-in-law. When they let go Ginny turned to her brother yet again and repeated "Ron?" hoping she got an honest answer this time.**

" **What? Are you telling me I'm supposed to let my little sister run along to some estranged country where she has no protection from the world out there, especially these FRENCH GUYS who can't seem to keep their eyes to themselves, without putting up a fight?!" he said all this in one breath turning him all red in the face. "I'm going to at least try to hold her back and discourage her from leaving us all behind. Can't blame an overly protective favorite older brother from trying!" he added shrugging his shoulders in defeat.**

" **Oh Ronald you are such a prat!" exclaimed Ginny throwing herself at Ron and playfully punching him in the chest. "Just admit that you're going to miss me so bloody much that I'll have to floo-call you every day so you don't freak out." She finished stopping her punches and wrapping her arms around her brother in a hug that could easily rival her mother's.**

" **Fine, fine I am going to miss you too bloody much and expect me to hold on to you from now until you go to bloody France. Now please stop choking me before you squeeze the life out of me!" Exclaimed Ron finally giving into his sister's tight embrace.**

 **When they eventually broke apart Ginny let a smile grow on her face. She hadn't expected everything to go so smoothly, but she was extremely pleased with the outcome. She let a yawn escape her realizing how tired she was because of the little sleep she had gotten the previous night. She took a glance above and saw that the sun was now setting and a few hint of starts were shining in the colorful sky. She really needed a long nap. One that would last till the next morning with no interruptions. She felt someone poking at her back and turned to see Fred and George holding the Magazine. Everyone else had gotten back to conversing, topics mainly circulating around Ginny's news as she heard the words 'France' 'Eiffel tower' and 'croissants' pop out from the different conversations.**

 **Smiling to herself she asked her brothers in a sweet tone: "Yes?"**

" **We're sorry for going through your bag without permission. We didn't have the right to invade your privacy and even when we did we shouldn't have openly declared what we saw and we are very, very, very, very, very, very sorry." they said in unison in sing-song mock tunes sounding like children reciting a poem and counting off the 'very's on their fingers.**

 **Ginny's smile expanded and she had to hold herself not to burst out laughing. She knew that they weren't sorry at all and they weren't sincere at least one bit. There sure was some hidden purpose in their coming over and fake apologizing.**

 **Her suspicions were confirmed as they leaned and asked her: "Is mom still watching?" in unison. Ginny threw a quick glance at her mom who was now deeply involved in a conversation with Fleur about the name of her unborn child. "All clear." she replied with a wink.**

" **Thanks Gin you're a doll." said Fred**

" **A Russian doll." added George.**

" **Or is that a French doll now?" continued a highly amused Fred.**

 **Ginny received two identical mischievous winks from her two identical mischievous brothers. Shaking her head she smiled at the sight of both of them. They would never grow up.**

" **Well I'm going home I am exhausted and I have gone through too many emotions for just two days. It's not good for me and I have a long week ahead of me." Announced Ginny gathering all her stuff and grabbing the attention of her family members. "One more thing. Please don't go on telling anyone. You lot weren't even supposed to know. Not until I had gotten my acceptance at least. Just keep it between us for a few days. Can you all do that please?" she asked them with a questioning and pleading look.**

 **All of them obliged but Hermione, and Ginny caught the hesitant air around her. So she asked her clearly and calmly: "Hermione, can you do that?"**

" **Ginny I understand that you want to keep this matter between the family, but are you sure you don't want to tell anyone else? Not even Harry?"**

" **Oh yes Hermione I am absolutely sure I don't want to tell anyone else, especially not Harry. I promise you I'll tell him when the time is right but now let us keep it the way it is."**

" **If you say so." Shrugged Hermione in a defeated tone, but Ginny couldn't help but notice that she wasn't all that convinced yet. Ginny just let it go knowing that she could trust her best friend to go against her better instinct if it meant anything to Ginny.**

" **Well goodnight everyone. I love you all, thanks for understanding." Ginny then was gone with a slight flick of her wand and a distant pop which was accompanied by a second pop not even a second later.**

 **Harry suddenly materialized in front of the surprised and astonished Weasleys who just sat there eyeing him without saying a word.**

" **What?" questioned Harry looking at the surprised mob in front of him.**

" **Nothing." They all said quickly making Harry eye them suspiciously one by one. They were all failing the attempt at a casual look and Harry instantly knew that they weren't telling him the truth. He noticed that the youngest Weasley wasn't there so he decided to further his investigation: "Where's Ginny?" he questioned suspiciously.**

" **Just missed her mate, just missed her." Answered an amused Ron putting an end to the conversation.**

 **AN:** Well this is my first author's note and I have a few things I need to say so this maybe slightly long. First of all I would like to introduce myself, my name is Kami and I'll be turning 15 in 4 months. I've been a potterhead for a year and a half which, I know, seems so ammature compared to other potterheads out there. Anyways, I've been a hardcore hinny shipper since The Chamber of Secrets, and I've always thought that the development of their relationship that was mentioned in the books have been brief. That, readers, is why I've taken to writing this story which I initially started writing last June for the simple reason for me to express myself. The thought of publishing this story had never crossed my mind. I have up to three chapters written and I'm sorry but I will never publish a chapter unless I have another one completed. For those of you who decide to continue with me, I'm excusing myself from now. I'm in ninth grade and this year has already started with so much pressure so you'll have to bear with me. Moreover, I did something really stupid before publishing the first chapter which was not rereading it. I did that yesterday and I found so many grammatical and structural problems I literally cringed. Hopefully, I'll learn from my mistake and won't ever publish another chapter before proofreading it first. One last thing, I've gone through most of the Hinny stories on and I must say the best I've read is _Seeking Ginny_ by _casca_ and to be completely honest they were my inspiration for this story. I advise you to read their story. That's it for today I promise the next ANs won't be this long. Thank a lot and keep in mind that reviews are really appreciated.

 **Disclaimer (for both chapters):** I am obviously not JK Rowling and am not in no way making any money out of this.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 **Ginny woke up the next day simply radiant. She knew that her newfound motivation was due to the exciting change in her plans, and she didn't want her energy to go to waste.**

 **She didn't lose any time and went to the loo to wash up and get dressed curtly. She figured she could wear anything underneath her robes, but the latter were going to be necessary despite the warm weather seeing as she was going to spend the whole day in the wizarding world. She contented herself with a pair of jeans and a simple black tank top.  
** **She was ready in the kitchen in less than 15 minutes where she quickly poured some milk and cereal in a bowl and sat down on the table making a mental list of everything she was supposed to do today.**

 **She would start by going to the Ministry of Magic and filing an official resignation form from her little job at The Department of Magical Law Enforcement in the office of Improper Use of Magic. It wasn't a very important job and her boss Mafalda Hopkirk would surely find another hopeless Hogwarts graduate to fill her spot. Ginny _was_ a productive and effective employee, however the job didn't have many requirements and almost anyone would be suitable. Briefly, she wouldn't be missed. She still, however, wouldn't mind getting a good recommendation from her boss for all the long hours filling paperwork at the Ministry.**

 **So, after finishing her quick breakfast and putting her bowl in the sink, Ginny apparated into the Atrium of the Ministry and headed towards the lifts to go to the second floor. It was her usual daily routine, nothing seemed too different. The real outcome of this simple ordeal would be the fact that she would step out of her boss's office unemployed and, hopefully, with the promise of a good recommendation.**

 **Mulling over all of this, she was in front of her boss's office much faster than anticipated. Ginny suddenly felt very nervous, Mafalda Hopkirk** _ **had**_ **provided her a job with a good salary accepting her despite her inexperience in any sort of job. The least she could do was thank her boss for the job.**

 **With that final note, Ginny knocked, for what would be the last time, on her boss's door .**

… **..**

 **The first thought that crossed Ginny's mind as soon as she stepped out of her former employer's office not even 5 minutes after she initially went in was, "Well, that was weird."**

 **Mafalda hadn't even seemed a little disappointed or surprised by Ginny's sudden decision. When Ginny told her what she wanted she simply stared at her very blankly for a moment or two then started ruffling through her files and her drawers for something that Ginny presumed to be the resignation papers.**

 **She was proven right when Mafalda simply put a piece of paper and a quill on her messy desk and motioned to Ginny to sit down to which Ginny complied. The latter then signed where she was supposed to sign and put the quill back on the table. Mafalda did the same and put the paper in one her drawers and then sat simply staring at Ginny through her round spectacles perched on the edge of her nose. Ginny had always fought the urge to push those horrid glasses up her nose.**

 **Ginny just sat there fidgeting with a loose string at the edge of her robes, not knowing what to do while Mrs. Hopkirk was gawking at only sound that could be heard was the loud obnoxious ticking of the clock facing the bureau, and the uninterrupted silence was becoming deafening for Ginny. She decided to take things into her own hands seeing as Mafalda wasn't making any move to say anything. She cleared her throat and got up politely extending her hand as a gesture of respect and thankfulness. Mafalda shook her former employee's hand and Ginny made a mental note of how cold and rough her hands were. She was sure her palms were sweating like never before and was silently hoping that she could find any way to create a diversion to get herself out of the uncomfortable situation she was in. Her prayers were answered when another knock could be heard at the door.**

 **Ginny immediately let go of her prior boss's hands and grabbed her bag from its previous spot on the floor and made a quick getaway towards the office doors.**

 **She opened the door and let one of her previous coworkers in. She was halfway out the door when she heard her name being called: "Ms. Weasley, you'll be receiving a formal recommendation from me by tonight. I along with your coworkers wish you the best of luck in whatever you're looking to do."**

" **Thank you Mrs. Hopkirk, I really appreciate that."**

 **Ginny didn't let herself mull over the peculiarity of what had just happened and instead was thankful that she had gotten over with the first step of her to do list. She still had a great deal of tasks, after all.**

 **The rest of the day was mainly uneventful.**

 **Having finished with her business at the ministry for the time being, Ginny apparated to Hogsmeade to take a walk to Hogwarts where she would ask for her OWL and NEWT scores from the Headmistress who was non-other than Professor McGonagall. The later was pleasantly surprised to see one of her ex-students come for a visit and a tired smile instantly formed on her features. Ginny felt quite honored considering herself the cause that put a smile on the face of one of the noblest people she had known throughout her life.**

 **After conversing for a while, Ginny requested to receive her test scores and McGonagall complied while passively asking about Ginny's motives without asking too many questions. Ginny, on the other hand, was torn between confessing her plans to her favorite professor, and keeping her answers very straightforward without saying too much. She dreaded McGonagall's reaction not knowing if the latter would be proud of her for finally deciding to take the next step in her life or scrutinizing her for leaving everything behind in these delicate times not far after the war.**

 **Ginny ended up cracking and confessing to McGonagall. She didn't inform her of her deepest motives, of course, but after Ginny had finally stopped talking and showing her the article from Witch Weekly's, the knowledge McGonagall had about the academy was the same as Ginny's.**

" **So professor, I really value your opinion and I would love to know what you think. Do you reckon I'm moving too fast? Am I missing something?" Ginny asked holding her breath waiting for McGonagall's reaction.**

" **Well, Ms. Weasley, you are one of the most capable students that I have had the fortune, or misfortune in some cases to be completely frank, to teach all through my years of education. I must say I am very pleased by your determination and I say you must go for it. Not many would have the nerve to take this life-altering step. Rest assured I am positive that you'll make it into the academy and please if you need any sorts of help, I urge you to contact me, I'll be ready to aid you in any way I may." Replied McGonagall, and Ginny could feel the sincerity of her words. She felt overwhelmed by the generosity and praising of a person she admired so dearly. She couldn't express her gratitude in words, but she didn't know if hugging the Headmistress would be very appropriate.**

 **Ginny hesitantly got up from her seat facing McGonagall and walked up over to her and extended her arm a shy smile on her face. The Headmistress got up as well, looked at her old pupil's extended hand with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Before she knew it, Ginny was caught by surprise being pulled into a hug. She was slightly self-conscious at first, never having experienced such a gesture previously, but she quickly overcame her state of astonishment and relaxed into her former Professor's frail arms.**

 **The two witches let go of each other and each took a step back having a luminous smile on her face.**

" **I wish you the best of luck Ginny, not that you'll need it, and you should know that I'm looking forward to hear all about your experience when you get back from France. I'll be anticipating an owl as soon as I know you're back."**

 **Promising McGonagall that she would be hearing from her soon, Ginny went down the staircase that led to the stone gargoyle in very high spirits.** **She had really hoped that she would have the opportunity to visit her favorite locations in the castle for the last time before long, but seeing as it was still mid-May, all Hogwarts students would be roaming around the halls of the castle. Consequently, Ginny wouldn't be able to peacefully have her nostalgic moments.**

 **Instead, she contented herself with sitting in the quidditch pitch for a few minutes. Most of the students were indoor anyway, so no one would mind her presence.**

 **To say** **that** **the weather outside was good would be an understatement. The** **high sunlit clouds drifted across a** **clear blue sky.** **Fresh air filled Ginny's lungs making her feel refreshed and exhilarated. The grass looked captivatingly fresh and Ginny couldn't fight the urge from lying on it. She not so gently threw herself on the moist ground and fell with a loud thud that caused some pain in her back. However, the pain slowly faded and Ginny soon felt herself relaxing and letting the warmth of the sun ease her into a state of comfort.**

 **She simply lay there, enjoying how careless she felt just being in the quidditch pitch breathing in the smells of the moist grass and broom polish for what felt like years but what must have been a quarter of an hour at most, before she felt a shadow falling over her blocking the warmth of the sun. She suddenly was well aware of the cool breeze surrounding her and reluctantly fluttered her eyes open to find out the source that had interrupted her meditation.**

 **The sight that greeted her was that of a very familiar half-giant she hadn't seen for a long time.**

" **Hagrid!" exclaimed Ginny getting up from her spot on the floor to engulf her friend in a hug, "It's been so long! How have you been? What have you been up to?"**

" **I've been great Ginny, just great. But let's not talk about me life, you know it's the usual between my classes and feeding Fang. Nothing special. Tell about yourself what are you doing 'ere at Hogwarts this fine afternoon?"**

 **And so Ginny ended up telling Hagrid all about her plans. She didn't know what drove her to tell him when she could have simply told him she was visiting. However once she had begun she didn't seem to be able to stop herself. So much for wanting to delay informing anyone before receiving a definite reply from the academy.**

 **During her talk with Hagrid they both wound up taking a walk making their way to Hagrid's hut which was refurbished after being set on fire during the war. His reaction to Ginny's news was as positive as her family's and McGonagall's had been and Ginny was really grateful for the encouragement of her loved ones. However, she couldn't help but feel that something was troubling Hagrid and she couldn't for the life of her figure out what it was. She didn't find any other way but to bluntly ask him about it, and that she did to which he responded with a coughing fit that Ginny presumed he was using to stall the inevitable because of Ginny's persistent and stubborn nature. After calming down, Hagrid glanced at Ginny through the corner of his eyes to see her having her eyebrows raised and placing her hands on her waist waiting impatiently and questioningly for an answer.**

" **Well, it's nothing really" started Hagrid shyly, suddenly becoming very interested in the ground below him and playing with the dirt underneath his feet, "it's just, how can I say this without sounding completely mental, what about Harry?"**

 **Ginny who had been up till now becoming impatient and looking slightly amused by Hagrid's discomfort froze in her tracks, and very slowly raised her head to become at eye level with said half-giant.**

" **What** _ **about**_ **Harry?" she asked in a voice unfamiliar to her.**

 **Hagrid suddenly felt uneasy and Ginny could feel a blush appearing on his chubby cheeks. Then, he suddenly started rambling without pausing and Ginny had a hard time keeping up with him: "Does he know you're leaving? I mean have you told him? Is he okay with it? What was his reaction? Are you sure you can leave him behind I mean of course not him only, your whole family is here. Are you…"**

 **But Ginny didn't let him continue, she had heard enough. She didn't know what Hagrid's motives were but she was going to set things straight with him. So, she answered him channeling her inner Hermione using her most confident and authoritative tone.**

" **Hagrid stop. First of all no, I haven't informed Harry of my intentions yet. The only people who know are the members of my large family, Professor McGonagall, and now you. Second of all, if he was or wasn't okay with it, I wouldn't care. I've made up my mind and there is no changing it. Third of all, of course I know I'll be leaving everything behind, and call me selfish but I honestly think that time has come for me to finally do something for myself and I surely won't let anyone convince me otherwise. Lastly, why in Merlin's name does all this matter it's not like Harry and I are attached to each other. Yes he is one of my dearest friends, but he's living his own life and I'm starting to live mine. I'm sure he'll be just fine without me." Her voice came out choked at the end and she tried to hide it with a frustrated huff. She hated it how the mention of Harry could get her all worked up like this. She tried her best to look as if what had just been said hadn't had the impact it actually had had on her, and Ginny plastered the fakest smile on her face and tried to regain herself.**

" **Anyway, it was nice catching up with you Hagrid, but I really need to get going I've already been here for way more than I had first anticipated. I'll try to drop by again before I leave for Paris. Just one more thing, can you keep the news to yourself I hadn't even counted on telling anyone before I had officially got in." she finished on a pleading tone.**

" **Sure Ginny, I'll do anything for my favorite Weasley." Replied Hagrid acting as if he was locking his mouth with a key. "I hope I'll be seeing you soon. "**

 **With that Ginny made her way to the exit of the castle. When she was finally out of the Hogwarts gates, it was about three o'clock and Ginny was starving having eaten nothing but a bowl of cereal since morning. She decided to head to The Three Broomsticks and have a bite to eat over there in the company of silence and peacefulness after the weird episode with Hagrid.**

 **Her plans however were immediately ruined as soon as she set foot in The Three Broomsticks. She had been naïve enough to think that the place would be empty or at least slightly crowded when all of Hogsmeade's citizens, heck all of Britain, knew that at 3 The Three Broomsticks would be at the peak of its rush hour.**

 **Wizards and witches alike were shouting for Madam Rosemerta to take their orders, and the poor landlady didn't know what had hit her. Stubborn as she was, she always insisted she didn't need any help running the pub despite the fact that she was ageing.**

 **Ginny was about to retrace her steps and grab a bite elsewhere when she heard the distinguishable voice of non-other than Harry Potter. She slightly shifted to check if he was unaccompanied and she barely caught a sight of blonde hair that were with no doubt Amber's before the crowd forming between them was too thick for her to regard anything. Not wanting to face the newly engaged couple yet, Ginny used the large crowd separating her from them to her advantage by blending in with the mass of customers to get out of the club unseen.**

 **She slipped through the lot of them incognito and was able to reach the exit with no trouble. As soon as she was back on the streets of Hogsmeade she let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. She berated herself for her immature façade and mentally kicked herself for being so vulnerable when it came to Harry. She could have simply said hello and run off with her business for Merlin's sake! Why is it she got so intimidated by him now when she was all but pouring her heart out to him not even two days before?**

 **No! She wouldn't dwell on him anymore! Today was supposed to be about her moving on! She wasn't going to let a certain raven-haired wizard retract the progress she had done up till now!**

 **With that in mind Ginny readjusted herself and proceeded her path through the street of Hogsmeade with a drive in her step.**

 **What she didn't realize however, that a pair of eyes had spotted her and had followed her every movement from the moment she had entered the pub.**

…

 **The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Ginny ended up apparating back to The Leaky Cauldron to avoid bumping into the happy couple and ended up having a late lunch there. She then headed to Flourish and Blott's to find some books that would teach her some basic French to get her started in France. After all, she wasn't going to Paris as a tourist, but as a temporary citizen; she might as well get a head start on learning the language.**

 **She already knew some French words from Fleur as well as some curse words which she had heard Fleur employ while giving birth. The memory of the usually perfect part-veela being in so much malaise always made her realize that even the most flawless seeming people on the outside had humane feelings.**

 **At any rate, she additionally thought she might try to get more knowledgeable in the French culture and touristic sights. She was, after all, going to spend a good amount of time there. She could try to benefit from it all by getting accustomed to the traditions, and check out all the famous sights she read about in the muggle novels (mostly romantic to be perfectly fair) Hermione had been so kind in lending her.**

 **The salesman at Flourish and Blott's helped her find the books she needed and when she paid for all of them, she decided that she had accomplished enough of her tasks for just one day.**

 **Thus, Ginny contended herself with grabbing a chocolate and lemon flavored ice cream at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. No one had ever really understood the combination of flavors she favorited, but it always satisfied her with a bitter-sweet taste, and Ginny could never comprehend how a person couldn't seem to catch on its heavenly taste.**

 **She sat at one of the round tables at the outside of the shop and spent the rest of her afternoon in Diagon Alley reading her newly purchased books savoring and relishing in the flavor of her ice cream in the alley's cool atmosphere.**

 **Ginny wasn't having a very hard time assimilating what she was reading, but at the same time she couldn't say it was a piece of cake. About two hours later she picked one of the books about the French culture and was instantly captivated. She wasn't aware of the time she spent devouring the contents of the book and before she knew it, it was getting darker and some of the shops around Ginny were starting to lock up.**

 **She gathered up her scattered possessions and left a tip on the table as a gesture of thanks to Mr. Fortescue for letting her spend the afternoon without interrupting her when he surely had other customers who needed the table. She grabbed her bag and her wand and was about to apparate back home when she felt someone lightly poking her shoulder. She directly felt her heartbeat escalate and she could feel her heart pounding in her head. She reflexively clutched her wand tighter and turned on her heal in hope to be able to face her opponent prepared. What she saw, however, was the exact opposite of what she had imagined. She came face to face with non-other than her niece in her brother's arms.**

" **Bill! You cannot sneak up on people like that! You almost gave me a heart attack!" she exclaimed in pure fright.**

" **Whoa Gin, calm down. It's just us. Victoire and I saw you and we just thought of saying hello. Apparently you were too engrossed in your book to notice us. Besides, Victoire here didn't mean to frighten you, did you now?" he finished addressing his daughter who reciprocated with a firm shake of her head.**

 **Ginny visibly relaxed at that and made a move to take her niece from her brother's arms. Victoire immediately jumped into her preferred aunt's arms and enveloped her in a small hug with her tiny self.**

" **Hey petite fille, did you spend the whole day with your father? Has he been giving you a hard time?" mock-inquired Ginny to which an obviously energetic Victoire replied with a giggle.**

 **Bill, on the other hand, looked exhausted. Victoire had apparently given her father a hard time and Ginny felt a little remorse towards her older brother and she suddenly felt very generous in the spur-of-the-moment and asked her brother: "Do you want me to take her off your hands for a couple of hours. What are you doing here anyway? Heading somewhere?"**

 **Bill replied with renewed hope in his eyes: "Would you that for me Gin? I would be so thankful. I still have some things to get taken care of and I was going to drop her off at Andromeda's for her to see Teddy, they both are expecting us. This one has been nagging to see him all week. I'm starting to think she might be developing a soft spot for little Teddy, poor kid he doesn't know what he's doing getting himself involved with a Weasley."**

" **What are you insinuating? I'll have you know that you are a Weasley yourself and I think we can all say that you have a perfectly happy little family. Little Teddy would be very lucky to have Victoire!"**

" **Whoa Ginny, let's not get ahead of ourselves now. Little Teddy can leave his little hands to himself until I say so."**

 **At the sound of Teddy's name Victoire quickly perked up and tried keeping up with the conversation, however it was obvious that she hadn't understood a thing her father had uttered. Ginny decided to tease her niece a little and said: "What's this Vic, I hear you like little Teddy. Is that right now?"**

 **Victoire quickly turned crimson and tried to cover her embarrassment with a firm "Biensure que non! Boys are icky!"**

" **Oh, so you don't want to see Teddy I presume? Too bad I was just about to take you there. Too bad, I'll have to go alone."**

 **Victoire undeniably was disappointed by this and tried to act as nonchalantly as she could when she said: "Fine I'll go." But she couldn't hide the smile already forming on her face.**

" **Perfect, now ask your father if I can take you there."**

" **Papa, can I please please please please go to Tonks's to play with Teddy?" pleaded Victoire.**

" **Sure think pumpkin, as long as you promise you'll behave."**

" **Je promets." Answered Victoire solemnly.**

" **Off we go then Vic. You can pick her up from the Burrow whenever you want, I'm sure she'll already be asleep before you get there. You'll have enough time alone with Fleur until then." She added suggestively.**

" **Gin, I owe you big time." Thanked Bill, placing one last kiss on his daughter's head.**

" **I'll be keeping that in mind." Whispered Ginny not taking her eyes off her brother's retreating form.**

" **Come on Vic, let's get going sweetie." Finished Ginny turning on her heal and heading towards The Leaky Cauldron to use the floo. Victoire still wasn't accustomed to side-along apparition and Ginny couldn't blame her since she herself had always preferred to be covered in scoot and dust while using the Floo Network over having to ingest the sensation of side-along apparating.**

 **They made it to The Leaky Cauldron and Ginny made sure Victoire had pronounced her destination correctly before flooing there herself. They were both immediately greeted by a beaming Andromeda Tonks helping Victoire off the ground where she had not so graciously landed.**

" **Ginny dear what a pleasant surprise! I was expecting your brother, but I'm sure Nymphadora will enjoy your company even more."**

" **Mother, I have told you a thousand times already, if not more, not to call me Nymphadora. Is that too much to ask?" dramatically exclaimed Tonks coming down the stairs with Teddy in tail.**

 **His hair was a bright blonde that night, clearly identical to Victoire's golden locks. He had obviously prepared himself for her largely anticipated arrival. At the sight of her, Teddy stopped in his tracks and motioned for her to follow him up the stairs. Ginny assumed he was taking her up to his room so they could be away from the "boring adults". Victoire didn't waste any more time and hurriedly ran up the stairs in her friend's pursuit zooming past Tonks without even looking back.**

" **Boy is she happy to see him. I think we've got ourselves quite a pair ladies." Impishly commented Tonks finally making her way down the stairs and greeting Ginny with a hug.**

" **Stop it you. She's probably just excited to have a friend of her age that isn't part of her family." Replied an amused Ginny giving her friend a light pat on the back. "You don't have to go around poking in other people's relationships just because you're bored off your arse because your husband is off on some escapade. They're only children for Merlin's sake!"**

" **I understand by what you just said that I can poke into your relationships, or may I say lack of."**

 **Andromeda took this as her cue to leave and started towards the kitchen to probably prepare a snack for the kids.**

 **Ginny, on the other hand, let out a scoff and forcefully sat on the couch and said: "Well excuse me Mrs. 'I-Have-A-Perfect-Marriage', but not that it is any of your business may I am not currently looking for any type of relationship seeing as I won't be staying for much longer."**

" **What is that supposed to mean young lady? Where exactly are you headed off to? More importantly why am I just now finding out?" questioned an aroused Tonks curiously.**

 **And so, for the third time in the same day, Ginny went in to a full explanation of her plans. She was caught breathless at the end of it all and started kicking herself mentally for being such a big mouth and not being able to keep some things to herself. She might have as well screamed the news from the rooftops while she was at it. She was surely kidding herself when she thought she could keep everything hidden until she had been a hundred percent sure that she would actually be attending the academy.**

 **Tonks, oppositely, was clearly caught in a daze. Ginny could tell by the enamored expression on her face that she was in a dream-world picturing herself in Paris at the moment, which assured Ginny that she had Tonks's full support.**

" **Gin, I love it. I really think you should go for it, no regrets. I think I'll be visiting you quite frequently. You know, ever since I was younger I've loved the concept of travelling to a different country and to find out that you're going to bloody Paris nonetheless… Wow Gin I have got to say I'm truly and genuinely impressed."**

" **What the bloody hell are you inquiring? Don't you think I've got the nerve to actually go through with something diverse? I'll have you know I am a very outgoing and bold person." Feigned Ginny.**

" **What made you think I thought otherwise? I am not _assuming_ anything. I know very well that despite your little figure you are a truly witty individual little Weasley." retorted Tonks in a mocking manner.**

" **You know me so well, replied Ginny wiping away a fake tear from her eyes, I think I might need a tissue."**

 **The two gathered themselves after a fit of giggles and Tonks declared with finality: "Well, this deserves a toast. Mother dear, please one of your finest bottles of Firewhisky…"**

" **Are you sure that would be very wise? I think you better have something else dear." Came Andromeda's motherly advice.**

" **A Butterbeer would do for me thanks. I still have to apparate home along with Victoire and I wouldn't think Bill would appreciate me returning his daughter whilst being even a bit tipsy." Responsibly cut in Ginny.**

" **Whereas I, on the other hand, am not going anywhere, so I intend to celebrate with a good glass of whisky. I think I am old enough to make-up my own mind, right mother dearest?"**

" **I understand by that that you are spending the night here, daughter dearest. I'll go prepare your room." Came Andromeda's knowing retort as she sent the drinks flying from the kitchen with a flick of her wand.**

" **I love you mom. Anyways, it's your loss Gin, really." Very carelessly answered Tonks pouring herself a generous amount of Firewhisky from the bottle of the alcoholic drink. "To new beginnings!"**

" **To new beginnings!" exclaimed an equally enthusiastic Ginny clinking her cold bottle of Butterbeer with Tonks's glass.**

 **Tonks had a couple more glasses of Firewhisky after that while Ginny continued sipping from her bottle of Butterbeer having a blast laughing at her older friend's insanities while she got more and more pissed. Sober Tonks was already fun to be around, but a drunk Tonks was a whole other story.**

 **Ginny had to hold the urge too pee many times for the way she couldn't stop laughing. Tonks was currently engrossed in what seemed to be a very intense argument with the muggle landline that had been ringing non-stop for almost fifteen minutes now. Whenever Ginny could contain herself enough to approach her so she could answer the phone to stop its incessant ringing, Tonks would shoo her away in the pretense that she had everything under control. Then proceeded her heated dispute with the pheletone which would send Ginny into another fit of loud laughter. She wondered how the children weren't lured downstairs because there was no way that Tonks was being quiet. The two must simply be too induced into doing their own thing to notice the racket downstairs. Andromeda hadn't showed up after going up herself either.**

 **She left Tonks to her dispute unnoticed and climbed the stairs up to the second floor. She noticed a door was slightly open but enough for her to make out what was inside. She advanced to get a better look nonetheless and she could make out a figure sprawled on the bed. Andromeda must have decided to turn in early tonight, thought Ginny. She slowly and quietly shut the door and retreated back.**

 **Further along the hallway she could see a low light coming out from under a closed door. She figured out that must be where Teddy's room was. She approached the door soundlessly planning to check on the kids without interrupting them. What she saw when she opened the door, however, made her go in to get a full view.**

 **Teddy and Victoire were both sprawled on the floor side by side sound asleep. They looked so cute and angelic that Ginny couldn't bring herself to carry them to the bed. The way they were sleeping so peacefully made it seem as if the carpet was as comfortable as a cloud. She had to resist the temptation of lying next to them and give into the fatigue that was suddenly trying to take over her. She must have been so distracted by Tonks that she hadn't noticed the time passing by. Her musings were confirmed when she threw a glance at her wrist watch which stated that it was almost eleven. Bill must be going to the Burrow expecting to pick up his daughter soon. If he got there and didn't find the both of them, Ginny would never hear the end of it.**

 **As gently as she could, she levitated Teddy into his bed and tucked him in. She then turned and looked at her niece. Victoire was going to be a challenge. She was a light sleeper and carrying her downstairs then flooing to the Burrow without waking her was going to be difficult.**

 **Ginny spent a good amount of time contemplating which angle to pick her from before she actually went for it. Then as delicately as she could, she lifted her niece and carried her easily all without Victoire shifting. So far so good, thought Ginny, good thing she is as light as a feather or this would have been much more complicated. She then turned around, turned Teddy's lights off and shut the door behind her.**

 **She was at the top of the staircase when she heard a familiar voice that was definitely not Tonks's. She was worried for a second not really being able to distinguish the obviously male voice, so she went down a few steps and halted dead in her tracks upon realizing the owner of the voice. "Why does this keep on happening to me?" she wondered, the irony of the repetitive situation not amusing her at all.**

 **She could almost clearly make out what was being said downstairs, and Harry didn't seem to be happy at all, his voice coming out in loud and angry whispers.**

"… **worried sick! What the bloody have you been doing? I tried floo-calling here about ten times and no one bothered to respond. I had to borrow a muggle telephone and call the landline, and still no one cares to answer! What am I supposed to think?"**

 **Ginny felt a little guilty after hearing Harry, and she was sure that Tonks wasn't in a right state of mind to be answering all of Harry's questions. She had no intention of being on the receiving end of Harry's angry banters either, so she decided the only way to face this situation without getting ambushed was to move quickly and say as little as she could.**

 **Ginny quickly went down the stairs and started taking things into her own hands. She didn't even give Harry time to process her presence, she just imposed orders.**

" **Ginny 'hic'! Look who's here 'hic'! It's our friend Harry 'hic'! Come 'hic' say hi!" exclaimed Tonks hiccupping all the while.**

" **Harry, Tonks is obviously drunk off her arse, and I have no time to discuss matters with you. I'm sure there is a sobering potion somewhere around here and I need you to find it and take care of Tonks. She can sleep here on the couch if you can just find her some sheets. You do not leave this place until she drinks the sobering potion and falls asleep. Is that clear?" Harry just nodded.**

" **Good, proceeded Ginny, now Andromeda and Teddy are asleep upstairs so try not to be too loud. I have to go before Bill arrives to the Burrow to claim his daughter and doesn't find her there. Good night!"**

" **Good luck for France Ginny!" exclaimed a woozy Tonks before passing out on the couch.**

 **Ginny's face got paler and she could feel Harry's questioning gaze. She quickly shook it off saying: "The woman is too drunk to think straight. Don't leave this place until she gulps the whole potion. I think it's in a cabinet in the loo."**

 **Without waiting for Harry's response nor reaction, Ginny was gone with the flames.**

" **That girl is going to be the death of me someday." Sighed Harry still looking at the fireplace where Ginny had just vanished.**

…

 **Ginny sat on her bed that night completely and utterly exhausted. She had just made it home in time and not even five minutes after she had lain Victoire on the couch, Bill had apparated right into the Burrow. He thanked Ginny and took his daughter home for the night.**

 **Not only had she barely escaped being butchered by her brother, but Tonks had almost revealed Ginny's plans to Harry. She was deeply thankful for the day to be over and was planning to sleep in until noon. To hell with her to-do list! She had already accomplished more than enough in one day!**

 **Another thing that was troubling her mind was what she was going to do about Harry. She had to face him eventually, she couldn't escape the inevitable. However, those thoughts were for another day. Now all she wanted to do was sleep, and absolutely no one, not even Harry, was going to take those precious hours of dreams away from her.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** **Hey guys! I know most of you that have been interested in the story (if you are even there?) have probably given up on me seeing as I uploaded the first 3 chapters in 1 month and then just stopped. I'm sorry if I disappointed any of you but I head huge writer's block while writing this chapter and I haven't been getting any reviews so I didn't really think anyone would really mind. I've been reading fanfiction myself and I think I found my 'inspiration' again. I know I may sound greedy and desperate but your reviews really push me to write more. So if you really are interested in seeing this story develop or you feel like giving any suggestions, I urge you to review. Thank you so much for the few people who actually took the time to do so, I am really grateful. This chapter is definitely not one of my best and I promise the next ones will be much better, the second part includes many memories and I hope I don't bore you to death.**

 **IMPORTANT: One more thing, I have changed some things in the first chapter starting from the night Ginny saw Harry and Cho kiss I'll put the whole part I have edited between {} in bold , so either go and read that part again or you can keep that in mind while reading this chapter.**

 **Wow this was longer than I had anticipated. Now, off with the story…**

Chapter 4

The next morning, Ginny didn't bother getting up early. When her alarm rang at 6, she simply ignored it not being even slightly satisfied by the amount of sleep she had gotten. There was no rush, after all, because she was unemployed and didn't have to get up at such an ungodly hour having nowhere to be.

Sliding back under the covers, Ginny enjoyed a well-deserved slumber and slept through the whole morning.

When she finally woke up, it was to the sight of her window casting a checker board of brilliant noon sunlight onto the dark walnut floor, and to the smell of her mother's cooking. Almost instinctively, her stomach made a sound that sounded particularly like an angry growl and she realized that she was, in fact, quite famished.

Without bothering to get properly dressed, figuring that she was the only resident at the household at the moment other than her mother, she made her way downstairs in her nightwear. Nevertheless, as she was about to set foot on the last step, she could make out several voices coming from the living the room and thought better of greeting people in her current state of wear.

She tried to conjure her robe, but after a few seconds of absolute vacancy, Ginny got up herself to retrieve some decent clothing and begrudgingly get ready for the day.

She got up to her room and picked all of her clothes laying on the floor, but couldn't for the life of her find her robes. She had been really exhausted the previous night and had hastily undressed and slipped into bed. She didn't seem to be able to recall if she had actually worn her robes coming from Dora's.

The thought of making sure that she had gathered her stuff must have escaped her mind in her rush to get out of there. She must have looked like a complete and utter fool in her scramble to leave.

Which brought her to another thought, Harry. She hadn't given herself the opportunity to mull over his late arrival the previous night given her state of exhaustion, but now it all came rushing back.

Twice in the same day, she had managed to avoid him. Thankfully, he was too daft to notice. She was making a big deal out of the whole affair, anyway. There was no guarantee that Harry would even mind her leaving to France. Who's to say he wouldn't be as optimistic and supportive of her as the rest of her family had been?

Ginny had been making up some theoretical, quite farfetched, scenarios in her head all including a very dramatic scene in which Harry would confess his undying love for her and stop her from going to France. She knew perfectly well that the reality of things was going to be very different. Probably no tears will be shed, he'll be happy for her, he'll even probably make a big deal about her being all grown up and things of the sort. In all likeliness, he'll have the same reaction as her brothers, because that's what she is to him, a sister.

She found herself dejectedly staring at her reflection in the mirror, her shoulders were sullenly slumped and she let out a sigh closing her eyes. Sulking over Harry was turning into an unhealthy habit.

She'd be damned if she didn't have at least some control over the situation. Besides, she wasn't in the mood for self-pity or self-torture or any sort of ill-treatment of herself. Save it for another day.

Ginny stood up from her position with determination and purpose promising herself, for the umpteenth time, that she was going to be stronger than her childish feelings. She was a mature, sharp, and cunning and no man was going to distract her from her new goal.

When she was finally done washing up, getting dressed, and making her room look less like a dump; she went back downstairs expecting that her mother's guests would be gone by now. However, her speculations were soon proved faulty when she heard an unmistakable clean cut French accent followed by her eldest sibling's deep, low voice.

Bill and Fleur were here? In the middle of a work day? Something had got to be up.

As soon as she opened the door to the living room her brother exclaimed: "Well, well, well, look who finally decided to grace us with her presence. Victoire must have been a handful for you to have to rest this long for recovery!"

"Not at all, Bill. Quite the opposite actually, she was on her best behavior. I was simply relishing in the fact that I have no obligation to be up as early as usual," she retorted, oh so casually. "Plus, yesterday was an eventful and tiring day."

"Oh absolutely, I'm sure sitting at the ice cream parlor and reading a book must have been really demanding," teased Bill recalling their encounter.

Ginny unceremoniously slumped on the couch opposite of her brother's and defiantly told him: "All so you know, dear brother, not that I should have to justify myself to you, I had a _very_ productive day. I went to Hogwarts, then Hogsmead, then Diagon Alley, _and_ I had to get up early to go to the Ministry to announce my resignation…"

"YOUR WHAT?!" furiously exclaimed Mrs. Weasley, who, up until now, was just observing the pointless banter between her eldest and youngest children with mere amusement. Now, however, the expression dominating her features was of pure questioning. "Ginevra Molly Weasley, please don't tell me you did something as irrational as quitting from your stable, earning job."

Ginny was surprised by her mother's outburst, she was very confident in her decision and her mother's opinion wasn't going to destabilize her. "As a matter of fact, mother, I did. I won't be needing it after all. You know going to study abroad and everything."

"Ginny you have made your intentions very clear, and you know you have our full support, but you still haven't even sent your application form to the academy let alone actually gotten accepted."

As soon as Molly said that, she regretted it fearing that her daughter would misinterpret what she had actually meant. Bill, seeing his sister's hurt expression, made quick way to clarify what his mother had failed to convey.

"Gin, don't get her wrong, we are all certain you'll get in; Mum is just trying to look out for you, aren't you mum?" he responded in an accusatory tone.

"Well of course, I am her mother for Merlin's sake! I can't have my youngest daughter running around the country unemployed. I am very optimistic about your future, but there is no guarantee that something unexpected can't go wrong preventing you from pursuing your career."

"I appreciate your concern mum, but I can handle anything thrown my way. Nothing is going to stop me from going to France," she finished with a smug tone.

"Look who seems overly confidant all of a sudden. What ever happened to the little Ginny that cried every time one of her brothers was off to Hogwarts?"

"She realized that each one of her brothers was actually a pompous, arrogant git and that she was better off without them anyway."

"Aw Ginny that hurt right here," replied Bill mockingly, pointing to the right side of his chest.

Ginny let out an amused snort and innocently approached her brother and removed his hand and put it on the actual location of his heart. "How endearing to know that my fully grown brother has yet to know the whereabouts of his heart."

"Oh stop it you too with all the bickering I am bored out of my skull and I'm sure Fleur here, who you still haven't greeted, shares my opinion."

Ginny had almost forgotten about her French sister-in-law. She got up to embrace the part-veela: "Fleur! I'm so sorry where are my manners? I am glad to see you!"

Fleur enveloped Ginny in a gentle hug "O don't yu worry abewt it. You let Bill here embrace his inner child."

"If I am to embrace my inner child, than Gin should be the responsible adult. We can't have her roaming the streets of Paris if she doesn't start playing the part."

Ginny scoffed.

Molly sighed in defeat: "Here we go again" she whispered, but her voice was loud enough for Fleur to hear. She offered the woman an understanding smile, as if apologizing for her husband's infantile, juvenile behavior; and took it as cue to at least try and take matters into her own hands. If she left things for Bill to handle, well, let's just say that the light row between the two siblings would probably never cease.

Before Ginny had the chance to come up with a comeback, Fleur hurriedly exclaimed: "Well Ginny, I am sure you will love roaming about the streets of Paris. It is un of ze most beautiful cities in ze 'ole world. Et toi Bill, don't talk about being a responsible adult when you are 'ere slacking off at your mum's home instead of being at work."

"HA! Thank you Fleur I couldn't have said it better," Ginny answered smugly all the while looking at Bill with a look that clearly said 'see even your wife is on my side'. "Speaking of, she continued, why _are_ both here? Don't you have anyplace better to be in the middle of the week?"

"Well Gin, I actually had planned to come and see you to surprise you with some exciting news. But you haven't been the ideal host, so I'm starting to reconsider."

Ginny knew he was only trying to make her feel guilty and apologize, but she didn't buy any of his rubbish, and she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. She could be very patient, but Fleur wasn't having any of it and made it very clear.

"Bill stop it with the nonsense, just tell ze girl enfin!"

"Okay, okay. Well, Percy, Charlie and I are delighted about your decision to continue your education in France, and we want to show you our support by presenting you with a small gesture."

Ginny was trying to keep a cool and collected expression while her brother was speaking, but she couldn't keep her thrill hidden much longer. Bill, seeing her at the edge of her seat, fought the urge to tease her even more and tried to proceed was cut off by an even more excited Fleur who just blurted out: "We found you an apartment near campus!"

For a few seconds Ginny stared at her brother and his wife shell-shocked, not seeming able to form the words to express her gratitude. She felt the gazes of three people on her, all amused. She was snapped out of her trance by the unmistakable sound of the floo admitting an individual into the house. She didn't have the time to blink before Charlie and Percy came rushing into the living room.

"Did you tell her yet?" proudly and optimistically exclaimed Charlie before spotting Ginny's pale complexion, "oh no you broke her."

Ginny finally put her thoughts into a comprehendible sentence and sheepishly said "No, no,no, I just cannot believe that you actually did that."

"She can talk!" Exclaimed Charlie making his way to hug his sister, Percy not far behind him, Bill trailing behind them.

Ginny enveloped each one of them in a strong hug, squeezing them to herself still not quite taking it all in yet and not willing to let go of any of them.

Molly's eyes were glistening and she had to wipe them to hold her tears back and not seem too emotional.

Fleur, on the other hand, was quite pleased and satisfied and there was a very pompous grin illuminating her features.

When Ginny had finally collected herself and her brothers were seated on the couch she regained her seat next to Bill and put her head on his shoulder.

"How is this even possible? How could you three possibly be able to find an apartment in Paris?!"  
"Well, Fleur here owled her parents as soon you told us on Sunday. They have some connections and were able to find you a very cozy apartment in the middle of Paris near the academy."

"Yes indeed, Bill communicated with Charlie and I, and we decided to offer you the flat as a going away present. Audrey and Fleur have most generously volunteered to decorate and buy you some furniture." Added Percy.

"We are going to pay for the first three months of rent, until you can get yourself well settled and properly accustomed. We know you are not a charity case, don't get us wrong, we just wanted to help. It's not too posh so it shouldn't be too pricey. It has a kitchen, a living room, 2 bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms. Worst case scenario, you can get a flat mate to split the sum each month." Continued Charlie.

"Whoa boys I am immensely grateful and overwhelmed, but I can't let you do that for me."

Before all three Weaselys opened their mouths to object, Ginny held up her hand signaling them to hear her out before interrupting.

"I can accept you finding me an apartment and I'll take it, because honestly you would have removed a burden off my shoulders and I hadn't the slightest idea of how I was to find one." She held her breath for a few seconds and continued letting it out "But I can't let you pay for anything. The whole point of going to France is to prove to you _and_ to myself that I can take care of myself. I am supposed to have a fresh start and as much appreciated as your gift is, I'm going to have to decline. Plus there is the matter that I haven't even been accepted yet and I know we all have high hopes for me, but as mum previously said: Nothing is guaranteed and I am not willing to be the reason for your money to go to waste. I have enough in my savings to get me started anyways, and I promise you if I ever need your financial aid, I won't hesitate to owl any of you."

Bill, Fleur, Charli, and Percy were all visibly brought down by the abrupt rejection of their gift from Ginny and held their heads down. Their disappointed faces made Ginny feel crestfallen, but she didn't regret her decision.

She tried to come up with something to say to lighten the mood, but nothing came to mind. She desperately looked at her mother for backup and Molly responded with an understanding nod.

"Come on boys, cheer up now. Ginny don't you worry dear, your brothers are just vexed because they just now realized that you are not so young anymore and you won't be needing them so much."

Ginny continued in a singsong voice "You know I love you three so much, but think of it this way: Instead of spending your money on me, you can get yourself something pretty, and you can all help me do the heavy lifting and the packing if it makes you feel any better."

This all put a small smile on their faces: "When did you get so wise Gin?" asked Bill.

Ginny just shrugged in a 'what can you do?' way.

Molly than clapped her hands together and got up: "Well, who is hungry it's almost time for lunch, and Ginny dear you still haven't had breakfast."

"Actually mum, I have to get back to work, duty calls." Said Percy getting up himself and placing a quick kiss on his mother's cheek.

"I should get going too because, unlike my 'usband, I care to not lose my job. It was good to see you Ginny, owl me if you need any 'elp. Bye tout le monde!" And with a soft 'pop' both she and Percy disapparated.

"I, however, have taken the rest of the day off and I am famished as well so if you don't mind mum I'll be staying here this afternoon," responded Charlie idly kicking his shoes of and laying his feet on the couch.

Ginny and Bill copied his actions, and soon the living room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. None of the Weaselys dared to disrupt the peaceful setting and each was engrossed in his own thoughts, simply enjoying the comfortable silence between siblings.

By the time supper was ready, Mr. Weasley was done from the Ministry for the day and all five weasleys had a delightful lunch, and Ginny made a mental note of spending as much time with her family as possible before, hopefully, going to France.

…

After lunch, Ginny found herself perched on her bed and aimlessly sifting through her old school books in comfortable silence. She didn't expect to find anything of any importance, but she rather enjoyed the ancient smell of old books and the feel of the worn out papers between her fingers. So when she came across what seemed to be entries on some spare parchments tucked in her book for History of Magic, she was quite taken aback. She scarcely recalled a wee period in her fourth or fifth year when she had tried to somewhat record the important details of her everyday life after realizing that her parents and even her older brothers had very vague memories of their younger days.

She distinctly remembered the queasy feeling in her gut when she first thought of her prized memories going into oblivion.

Saying Ginny Weasley was fearless would be an exaggeration, but she had never been afraid of anything cliché like spiders, the dark, or killer clowns. Maybe when she was younger, she did get frightened easily, but what four-year-old wouldn't be afraid of mummies and vampires? Things like that didn't really affect her now and hadn't for quite a while, but that didn't mean she was fearless.

Ginny always had some sort of an attachment to memories, and, not that she would admit it to anyone, her worst fear was to forget: Waking up one day and not knowing who she was, not recognizing her family and the people she loved, not remembering anything of her childhood or adulthood or anything in between. That is why she always had tried to hold on to memories and unwilling to let them go. She would wish she could freeze a certain moment in a frame putting it on replay to keep reliving it. But she knew that was impossible, and that is probably why she had always had a soft spot for writing.

Even the tragic events of her first year reflected on this.

She had first resolved to writing in Tom Riddle's diary as a way of recording all her feelings and all the exciting things she expected to do and see during her first year in Hogwarts. Finding out that the diary actually responded acting as a friend had probably been a bonus at the time, and that was probably why she eventually started resorting to the diary as a mean of pouring her heart out and taking advice from someone who she thought was there for her. Of course she didn't have the slightest idea on how that whole situation was bound to turn out, but that is beside the point which is that teenage Ginny didn't want to grow old leaving everything behind. However after the events of her first year, she couldn't bring herself to write anything for a while being in constant paranoia, and who could blame her? What she had been through was enough to traumatize someone for a lifetime, and she still suffered from the consequences of that drastic year but had coped better than most people, particularly her family, gave her credit for.

Shaking her head, Ginny realized that her line of thoughts had taken a different direction than she had initially anticipated and went back to the task at hand.

The parchments probably dated back to her fourth and fifth years when she had felt enough time had passed to start writing again. Feeling suddenly nostalgic she decided to go through all her books to find as much of the memoirs as she could before reading them.

About 15 minutes later she had a pile of spare parchment stacked on her pillow and the rest of her school books sprawled on the floor.

Most of the memoirs were numbered, but for some reason Ginny preferred going through them haphazardly. She picked up a random piece from the pile and started reading.

 _Memoir 6_

 _Another perfect summer day being wasted in Grimmauld Place cleaning. I think I'm developing an allergy to dust._

'Wasn't _I_ a little dramatic?' thought Ginny to herself.

 _I can't take this anymore, and I'm pretty sure my brothers and Hermione completely agree with me. Most of us are completely left out of anything that has to do with the Order, but I'm pretty sure things will change for Ron and Hermione when Harry gets here. Sirius will probably insist that he has the right to know at least some of what is happening and he'll say that he is going to tell everything to his best mates later anyway so leaving them out is useless because they'll eventually be in on everything as well._

 _And I'll be left out of things. As always. I'm going to seem like a dramatic teenager saying this but it's true: No one in that house has any bloody time for me. I actually thought Hermione and I would have more time to talk and maybe bond (?) and perhaps become closer friends, but she has been spending most of her time bickering her head off with Ron. Either that or they both spend their time sulking in Ron's room over the fact that they can't owl Harry when he must be feeling so awful about what had happened at the end of last year. Oh how interesting it was going to be when Harry finally got here. Anyway the only person that I can actually have decent conversations with is surprisingly Sirius._

Ginny felt herself smile at this.

 _I think I have finally gotten my head around the fact that he is an innocent man who was framed by one of his best friends and blamed of handing his other two best friends to the Dark Lord on a silver platter. If only anyone in my large family had actually warned me about this maybe I wouldn't have made a fool of myself and futilely aimed my wand at him while questioning my parent's sanity when I had first laid eyes on him. But I have already gotten through all those details in that day's memoir so let me get back to my point._

 _Sirius Black is a person full of surprises. Yesterday night I couldn't really fall asleep after overhearing (yes overhearing because I can't even know what is already public knowledge without eavesdropping)what had happened to Harry and his oaf of a cousin. It wasn't too late and I could still hear distinct chatter coming from the kitchen, but I suspected that tonight's Order meeting was going to take longer than usual given recent events. So I slowly crept my way to the drawing room next door, as to not wake Hermione up, taking a book she had gotten with her called_ The notebook _by some muggle author called_ Nicholas Sparks _(AN: I know that it was actually published one year later just bear with me here)._

Ginny threw a quick look at her bookshelf above her bed and saw the infamous book laying there making her smile. It was still one of her absolute favorites.

 _However when I opened the door I found out that the room was already occupied by none other than Sirius Black. He hadn't turned the lights on but I could recognize his figure solemnly sitting in the dark with his thoughts. I tried to make my out without being spotted, but being as clumsy as I am I had to go ahead and make my presence noticed by stepping on Crookshank's tale making him jump, the poor cat. This is exactly how the conversation went._

" _Oh I'm sorry I didn't realize the room was occupied … I thought everyone would be in the meeting … I shouldn't even be awake … I'll go back to sleep now … good night um Sir." I was completely certain that the color of my face could rival that of my hair at that moment._

" _Oh please Miss Weasley have a seat. I think I might enjoy the company now more than ever. Plus I still haven't gotten to know you yet, and I think you are exactly what I need right now."_

 _I made my way to the seat opposite to his and sat cross legged._

" _Please call me Ginny. May I ask what is it that you need right now?"_

" _A diversion. And if I am to call you Ginny than please call me Sirius. Sir just makes me feel like an old man. Now tell me something, why are you awake? Isn't a young lady like you supposed to be getting her beauty sleep? Not that you need it of course."_

 _This made me blush even more, if possible._

" _Oh um it's just um", I wasn't about to tell him I was worried about his Godson, "I just couldn't fall asleep so I thought I would come here and read for a while."_

 _That didn't even sound convincing to me, but thankfully he went along with it._

" _Mm yes it must be terrible for someone like you to fall asleep in a bed that's not yours." I could feel a hint of mockery in his voice and I didn't know if he was insulting me or just trying to be funny._

" _A girl like me?"_

" _I mean, don't take this the wrong way Ginny, but seeing as you are the youngest in the family of boys you must be pampered and spoiled to no end. You must be used to having everything your way and the slightest inconvenience or disruption in your daily routine must be hard to get accustomed to." He said this all nonchalantly, but I couldn't help but feel insulted. Who was he to make such assumptions? He said it himself: he didn't know a thing about me. My previous shyness was gone and now he was going to have a piece of my mind._

" _Obviously Mr. Black you don't know a thing about my brothers." I cheekily retorted. "Do you think growing up with 6, mark my words, 6 older brothers would make me grow up into a pampered daddy's girl? Please, I think I am more macho then some of my brothers, and none of them ever want to be on the wrong side of my wand because they know perfectly well that I master my spells pretty smoothly and can hold up a good fight. You obviously have a very stereotypical vision of girls, and if you want me to be civil towards you, then you must work on changing that."_

 _Oh if my mum had heard me say that to a man almost triple my age, she would have hexed me into next year. But the look on Sirius' face was almost impressed, and I didn't regret saying what I had._

" _Well it seems I have a lot to learn from you then, Ginny. I look forward to you proving me wrong."_

 _He got up from his place and for a second I thought that he was going to leave, but instead he approached me and held his hand out. I warily seized it and we slowly shook hands all the while maintaining eye contact. Then he broke into a grin, and, not being able to help myself, I let out a chuckle._

 _He then sat next to me grabbing the book from its previous spot on the couch and started reading its synopsis at the back._

" _The notebook by Nicholas Sparks. Ah yes I am sure this book is full of spells you can use against your brothers", he said cheekily._

 _Now all I knew about that book at the time was that it was a romance, and that alone made me want to snag the book back from him because the worst thing that could happen after I had lost my temper like that would be him finding a way to easily prove his point, hence proving my argument null and void._

 _However when I saw his eyebrows almost go into his hairline and his mouth form into a smirk, I knew it was too late. So much for proving myself to him. The blush quickly returned to my temporarily pale cheeks and all I could do was stare at the floorboards._

" _You're cute Weasley. I am going to like getting to know you more. Tell me how the story turns out", and he left, just like that._

 _Maybe I'm going to like getting to know_ him _as well. Oh and that book isn't looking as bad as I thought it would, it turns out I have a soft spot for romantic stories._

Ginny took _The Notebook_ from her bookshelf, folded the piece of parchment she had just read and tucked it into the book.

That night had been the first conversation she had with Sirius, and they kept on meeting there coincidentally for many more nights, even after Harry's arrival, until it became some kind of unspoken agreement between the two. When either of them had trouble sleeping, or Sirius couldn't take another Order meeting, or when Ginny was yet again left alone, not that she really minded, they could be found in the drawing room.

During the first few nights, Ginny just read her book while Sirius sat there lost in his thoughts. Sometimes, he would find her engrossed in her book and was intrigued enough to ask her about it. She passionately gave him a detailed description of the story up to the point she had reached, and every time she came across an important event, she felt the need to tell him. Soon enough he was as knowledgeable in the story as she was.

Later, though, when she started feeling more at ease around him, they actually stayed up late and talked about many things. Sirius was very interested about Ginny's childhood and she was his. Their conversations were usually pleasant and light, and even Professor Lupin joined them once or twice.

One of the conversations they had she precisely remembered was even later in the year, a few nights after her father had been attacked by Nagini and she along with her brothers and Harry had been sent to Grimmauld Place. Funny how she had been thinking about that same night a few days ago under different circumstances.

Not only was the infamous night that of Harry and Cho's first kiss, but also the night she had almost lost her father.

The conversation she was thinking about however was one that took place about two nights after that.

 _Hermione had just gotten to Grimmauld place via Knight Bus and they were prepared to confront Harry about the fact that he had been hiding from everyone since they had gotten back from St. Mungo's. They knew perfectly well that he was in a way blaming himself for what had happened and they needed to get it through his thick skull that he was, in no way, to blame for this. The conversation began just as she had thought it would. Harry was being his stubborn self and seemed not too_ _pleased with the fact that they had been talking about him, but she wasn't going to let him get away with this: she remained unabashed despite the numerous glares he sent her way. What had surprised her though was the following:_

" _ **I didn't want anyone to talk to me," said Harry, who was feeling more and more nettled.**_

" _ **Well that was stupid of you," said Ginny angrily, "seeing as you don't know anyone but me who's been possessed by You-Know-Who, and I can tell you how it feels."**_

 _ **Harry remained quite still as the impact of these words hit him. Then he turned on the spot to face her.**_

" _ **I forgot," he said.**_

" _ **Lucky you," said Ginny coolly. (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)**_

 _After that she remembers him apologizing and her explaining to him what would happen if he indeed had been possessed by Voldemort. But genuinely, she hadn't felt like saying anything after hearing him utter these two words. He had forgotten? She had had Voldemort literally feeding off her soul for a whole year, and he had forgotten? She had been through hell, and he had forgotten. That simply proved how little he actually gave importance to anything that had to do with her. She must have meant close to shite to him if he could so easily forget that she had actually fought against Tom Riddle for almost a whole year before he came in and saved her like she was a damsel in distress. She had to write her own death sentence in blood when she was bloody 11 for Merlin's sake, and he forgot._

Even now, about five years later, Ginny couldn't help but feel a blow to the heart at how insensitive he had been.

 _That night Ginny hadn't shut an eye. She hadn't even bothered going down to dinner and of course no one other than her mum had really noticed that she was missing. People seemed to forget about her quite often. She let a bitter laugh at the thought._

 _At little past midnight, after having tossed and turned in her bed for a couple of hours, she went down to the kitchen to settle her grumbling stomach. She prepared a quick sandwich and made her way to the drawing room not expecting to find Sirius there but hoping all the while._

" _I was wondering when you would finally grace me with your presence," said Sirius contentedly as soon as she had gotten in. "Missed you at dinner, come tell uncle Siri what's wrong," he finished in his best mothering voice patting the seat next to him._

 _Ginny languidly made her way to her assigned seat, and started munching her sandwich after grumpily murmuring "Well at least someone noticed, I actually started thinking how long it would take for it to catch on if I locked myself upstairs for the rest of the holidays. Maybe Hermione would finally realize that I haven't been out of my bed after smelling my dead corpse."_

" _Isn't someone being a tad bit dramatic?" replied an amused Sirius._

To this day Ginny can't remember what possessed her to say what she had next, but she did and she didn't regret it.

" _Sirius?" came Ginny's timid yet tired voice._

 _Discerning Ginny's grave tone Sirius replied solemnly "Yes Ginny?"_

 _Ginny took a deep breath "Did anyone tell you what happened my first year at Hogwarts, Harry's second?"_

 _The rest of the night went by with Ginny finally opening up to someone about what she had gone through during that monstrous year. He listened without saying a word. Most of the time Ginny couldn't even look him in the eye, not because of shame, but because she didn't want to see the pity there, and she hoped that when she was over he wouldn't have changed his mind about her, that he would still regard her in the same way he had previously. Maybe he could even see what everyone had failed to see. That she was stronger than most people thought she was. That she wasn't fragile and frail but tough and resilient._

 _When she was done, she chanced taking a look at Sirius, fearing the worst, but the look on his face told her that her prayers had finally been answered._

" _You are quite the girl Ginny aren't you? How come Harry hasn't seen that yet?"_

 _Of course he had to mention Harry. Of course he had to see right through her to what really was bothering her about this whole ordeal. Of course, at the slight mention of his name her face had to go as bright as a strawberry. Of course she had to at least try to deny it._

" _Harry has nothing to do with this Sirius. He even seems to have forgotten that anything has even happened. I had to remind him today, you know? To put him back in his place, to wake him up over the fact that he wasn't possessed by Voldemort, but I was. You know what he says? He says 'I forgot'," Ginny imitated his voice earning a grin from Sirius._

" _That boy is just thick isn't he? Don't worry dearie, he'll come to his senses. It'll happen one day. Potters and redheads, you can't keep them apart."_

" _No Sirius, I don't think so. This Potter is more interested in exotic Asians with long, straight shiny black hair, not someone that reminds him of his best friend and his adoptive parents. My story with Harry is simple, it's a blank page with nothing there. I'm his best mate's little sister and that's the way it always will be. If anything I hope we can be friends someday, I'll content myself with that."_

" _Are my ears failing me? This is not a response worthy of Ginny Weasley. I thought you would fight for what you want. Write your own story, don't you leave that page blank. Mark my words Ginny Weasley, I will not die a happy man unless you and Harry get a happy ending."_

'I'm sorry Sirius, but I guess you were wrong.'

 **Author's note:** **Love it? Hate it? Tell me in the reviews. The more the reviews the more motivation I have to continue writing.**


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